Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $745.34 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,850,858 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 121,197 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.72% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $745,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $492.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $476.45 and a 200-day moving average of $463.71. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.