Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Holdings Trimmed by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,327 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC raised 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% during the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $460.87 on Tuesday. 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 $117.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $467.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $435.79.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $577.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.00.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $301,537.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,542,573.40. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.