Qtron Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Qtron Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 35.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,115 shares during the quarter. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $484.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $484.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $464.27. The firm has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.