Broadleaf Partners LLC Sells 201 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Broadleaf Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,923 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 1.6% of Broadleaf Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Broadleaf Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,374,948,000. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.41.

Insider Activity

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

VRTX stock opened at $489.10 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $486.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.07. The company has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a PE ratio of -222.32, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.