Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by First Horizon Corp

First Horizon Corp cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,966 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,373.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 361,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,119,000 after buying an additional 336,573 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $149,291,000 after buying an additional 319,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $441.20 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $461.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $447.78. The firm has a market cap of $112.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.