Voloridge Investment Management LLC Sells 67,376 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 49.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,712 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 67,376 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $28,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the period. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.7%

VRTX stock opened at $435.32 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $479.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -197.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.04.

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.