Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 265,992 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,625,802 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 265,992 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.41% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,475,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,025,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,530 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 17,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,317,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 368,728 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $150,032,000 after acquiring an additional 40,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 31,917 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,987,000 after buying an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $432.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $422.78. 1,064,604 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,114,629. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $320.01 and a 1 year high of $448.40. The company has a market cap of $109.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $407.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $401.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.