Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 98.8%, selling 146,061 shares, leaving it with only 1,719 shares valued at $833,000 according to their latest SEC filing.
• A number of other institutional investors increased their positions in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with Brighton Jones LLC raising its stake by 15% to a total of 4,427 shares valued at approximately $1,783,000.
• Despite a slight market decline of 1.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a strong quarterly earnings beat with revenue up 11.3% year-over-year, posting $4.52 earnings per share compared to the estimated $4.24.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 98.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,719 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 146,061 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 17,674 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,117,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,651 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,095,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,216,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4%

VRTX stock opened at $390.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $446.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.11.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $497.10.

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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