Axa S.A. Sells 3,620 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

AXA S.A. cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,790 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,620 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $56,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded down $50.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $450.03. The company had a trading volume of 7,998,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,270. The company has a market capitalization of $115.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $492.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $466.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.