Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Sells 1,413 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,391 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the period. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s 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 $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 15,195 shares of company stock valued at $6,801,006 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $458.99 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $438.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.