Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 527,864 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,330 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $239,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Camden National Bank grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 20,968 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,506,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Vantus Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $412,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 269 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 7,139 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $438.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $111.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $438.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $451.92. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.