Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 11,812 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,537 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,812 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 2.1% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after buying an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after buying an additional 44,537 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after buying an additional 144,266 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $445.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $437.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $452.16. The company has a market cap of $113.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,462 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,195. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.