Cercano Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cercano Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 98.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 780 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 62,577 shares during the period. Cercano Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $500.19 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $492.42 and its 200 day moving average is $466.91. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $128.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.36, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $514.91.

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.

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