Sienna Gestion Sells 20,729 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sienna Gestion trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 97.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 514 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,729 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $502.92 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.87. 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 data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

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.