SVB Wealth LLC Sells 148 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

SVB Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $707,950,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 232.3% during the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 933,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,961,000 after buying an additional 652,321 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,578,444 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $744,603,000 after buying an additional 640,899 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 144.6% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 576,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,452,000 after buying an additional 340,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $81,378,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.17 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $316.43 and a one year high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $415.28 and its 200 day moving average is $396.78. The firm has a market cap of $101.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus 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.