Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Ardevora Asset Management LLP

Ardevora Asset Management LLP lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 48.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,349 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 26,300 shares during the quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $11,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,406,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $309,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,565 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,264,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 40,312 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $0.80 on Friday, reaching $394.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,342,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,761. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $316.43 and a 52-week high of $448.40. The company has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $413.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $397.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.