CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 2,805 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

CWA Asset Management Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,469 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,805 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 101.1% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 54.6% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 699 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,864 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,518,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group set a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $468.58 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The firm has a market cap of $118.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $440.40 and its 200-day moving average is $426.49.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.