Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,166 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 81,761 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after acquiring an additional 528,029 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $488.34 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $451.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.34. The stock has a market cap of $125.40 billion, a PE ratio of -221.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.