Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 172,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,882 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 2.3% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $70,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 30,572 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,079 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,067,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 910 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 187,334 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.68 on Friday, reaching $396.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,187,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,359. The company has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The firm's fifty day moving average is $416.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $395.19. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $316.43 and a 12-month high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $438.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $420.33.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.

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