Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 7,018 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 46.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,984 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,018 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,435,000 after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,417,000. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,695,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 21,189 shares of company stock valued at $9,923,036 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $433.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $110.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $442.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $450.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current year.

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.