Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

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

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $228,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,633 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,682 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $4.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $438.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,505,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,153. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $112.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.39, 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $483.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.73.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Barclays lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.