Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Position Reduced by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 46.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,920,020 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,452,747 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 1.52% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,578,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,229,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,544 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,409 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,701,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,401,000. Finally, B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,853,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $492.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $476.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Activity

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