Sowell Financial Services LLC Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Sowell Financial Services LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 29.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,814 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,198 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after buying an additional 520,949 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,373.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 361,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,119,000 after buying an additional 336,573 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $443.92 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $465.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $445.04. The stock has a market cap of $112.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $510.77.

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

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.