Qtron Investments LLC Sells 1,115 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Qtron Investments LLC lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 35.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,115 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $484.22 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a PE ratio of -220.10, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.