Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,138 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 42,095 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $67,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.7 %

VRTX stock opened at $511.74 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $131.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.61, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $469.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.79.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.