William Blair Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 97.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 22,012 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Evercore upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.4%

VRTX opened at $474.27 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $467.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $433.80. The firm has a market cap of $120.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,225. This represents a 20.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $930,529.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,945,993.02. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 91,156 shares of company stock valued at $42,845,497 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.