Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $6.59 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,371 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,797 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $14.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $439.37. 2,095,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,393,949. The firm has a market cap of $112.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $488.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.83. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.