Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 204,071 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 176,283 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $94,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,251 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,630 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,279,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 7,731 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $516.74 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $475.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.01. The stock has a market cap of $133.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -259.67 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $341.90 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.