Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,738 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. abrdn plc grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,410,000 after acquiring an additional 384,730 shares during the period. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $81,378,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,605,146,000 after buying an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after buying an additional 131,539 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21,750.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 115,150 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $46,853,000 after buying an additional 114,623 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $397.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $411.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $398.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $320.01 and a 1 year high of $448.40.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

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.