Anchor Investment Management LLC Sells 177 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Anchor Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,406 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,899,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $500.49 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $128.52 billion, a PE ratio of -227.50, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $485.37 and its 200 day moving average is $464.76. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

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

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.