Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Sells 9,343 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 97.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 9,343 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $98,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,519,302,000 after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

VRTX traded down $1.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $458.28. 332,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,416,979. The stock has a market cap of $117.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -116.92 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $450.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $458.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.