Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 66.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,015 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 19,985 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Humankind Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 30,111 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 140,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,826,000 after acquiring an additional 17,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elefante Mark B bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,833,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $4.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $438.65. 1,505,089 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,409,153. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The business's 50-day moving average price is $483.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.73. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.