Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 394 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,644,492,000 after buying an additional 87,397 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,409,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,700,938,000 after buying an additional 26,538 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after buying an additional 89,217 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after buying an additional 131,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $707,950,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $2.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $395.05. The company had a trading volume of 373,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,491. The business’s 50-day moving average is $415.72 and its 200 day moving average is $396.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $316.43 and a 52 week high of $448.40. The company has a market cap of $102.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.62.

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.