Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lessened its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 73.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,448 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 39,692 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $2.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $496.49. 1,503,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,338,044. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $489.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market cap of $127.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.