GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• GW Henssler & Associates cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,957 shares and leaving the firm with 18,834 shares valued at about $8.54 million.
• Vertex’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $4.47 EPS on revenue of $2.99 billion, with sales up 8.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with 22 Buy ratings and an average target price of $555.91, even though some insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,834 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,957 shares during the quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.91.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $438.40 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $438.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.92. The company has a market cap of $111.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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