Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,980 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 35.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,980 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value 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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $393.10. 880,342 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,249,131. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $415.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $396.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $316.43 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $424.62.

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.