Pitcairn Co. Trims Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,094 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $756,381,000 after purchasing an additional 20,361 shares during the period. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

VRTX stock opened at $450.97 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.74. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.38.

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.