Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by GTS Securities LLC

GTS Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 54.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,329 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,958 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth 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. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $10.00 on Tuesday, reaching $446.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,048,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,098. The stock has a market cap of $114.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.07.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.