Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,681 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after buying an additional 482,616 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after acquiring an additional 166,987 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after acquiring an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,697,716,000 after purchasing an additional 65,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.41 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $449.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $427.21. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $118.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.31.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.10.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,225. This trade represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.