Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,811 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,510,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $503.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $467.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $462.69. 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 $129.22 billion, a PE ratio of -228.73, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS 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.