Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 627,517 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 20,291 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.24% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $252,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during 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. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $492.47. 1,369,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,331,665. The stock has a market cap of $126.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $489.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.