Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Anderson Hoagland & Co.

Anderson Hoagland & Co. cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,823 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,352 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.2% of Anderson Hoagland & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Anderson Hoagland & Co.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $446.10. 782,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,415,116. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $466.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.