Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by C WorldWide Group Holding A S

C WorldWide Group Holding A S lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,557 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 22,000 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 0.4% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $29,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.7% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 239.1% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Slow Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 12,946 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,502,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 21,807 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,583,000 after buying an additional 4,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $397.48. 682,467 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 909,553. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $411.60 and its 200-day moving average is $398.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $320.01 and a one year high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Maxim Group lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.