Sienna Gestion Reduces Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sienna Gestion reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 97.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 514 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,729 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $502.92 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $455.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.87. The stock has a market cap of $129.14 billion, a PE ratio of -228.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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 forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

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.