Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,809 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 3,981 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,196 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,812,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $635,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $488.34 on Wednesday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $451.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.34. The company has a market capitalization of $125.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.97, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.