MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,828 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 73,011 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,828 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $33,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,475 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 107.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 49,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,819,000 after purchasing an additional 25,375 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,192,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,001,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,530,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $473.27 and a 200 day moving average of $474.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $120.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.71 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VRTX. Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’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 transaction 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 represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. 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.