Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $84.26 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 39.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,239 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 137,116 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $84,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $6.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $503.46. 393,313 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,334,358. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $490.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS 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.