Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 93.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,302 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 17,425 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 475 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 151,428 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $326,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 362 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $483.31 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $124.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $441.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $461.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.