Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,083 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,525 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $449.52 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $429.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.79.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.