Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

by · The Cerbat Gem

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,537 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,812 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 2.1% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Get Our Latest Analysis on VRTX

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 13,462 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,195 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

VRTX stock opened at $445.77 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $437.37 and its 200-day moving average is $452.16. The company has a market cap of $113.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Free Report)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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