Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 1,489 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,713 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,489 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.6% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,228 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 29.7% during the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 386,648 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $161,623,000 after buying an additional 28,747 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $449.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $474.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.58. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $346.29 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $115.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.