United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 1,243 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 29.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,944 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after buying an additional 1,089,063 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,097,000 after acquiring an additional 520,949 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after acquiring an additional 424,808 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,225. The trade was a 20.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,605 shares of company stock valued at $71,721,068. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.0%

VRTX stock opened at $469.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $442.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.19. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $535.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.