Pitcairn Co. Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Pitcairn Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,884 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.17.

View Our Latest Stock Report on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $474.62 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $481.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $463.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a PE ratio of -215.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last announced 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, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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