Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 37,196 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 389,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 37,196 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $158,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,375 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $401.11. 524,599 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,218,421. The company has a market cap of $103.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $320.01 and a one year high of $448.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $410.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $399.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related 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 transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 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 $577,409.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.