Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $5.63 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 57.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,984 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 18,659 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,510,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $447.09. 882,371 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,418,078. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week 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's fifty day simple moving average is $472.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.84. The company has a market cap of $114.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -203.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.04.

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.