Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 194,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $78,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $489.10. 1,205,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,330,372. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -222.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $486.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

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 (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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, 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 have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.