Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 62.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,083 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,525 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. RDA Financial Network raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 38.3% during the third quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 6,709 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 65,118 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $877,000. Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 1,051 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $498.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $449.52 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $429.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.79. The stock has a market cap of $114.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current 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.