Howland Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Howland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 836 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,497,000 after acquiring an additional 3,999 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 124,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,535,000 after acquiring an additional 8,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 216.3% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $462.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,198,300.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at $7,634,616. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,366 shares of company stock valued at $13,058,787. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $2.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $494.71. 11,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,209,546. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $496.06. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $459.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $431.15. The firm has a market cap of $127.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.