WINTON GROUP Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

WINTON GROUP Ltd lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,884 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

VRTX opened at $502.55 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $475.04 and its 200-day moving average is $463.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $129.05 billion, a PE ratio of -228.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. 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 issued 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 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.