Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,808 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,884 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $101,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.4%

VRTX stock opened at $468.58 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $440.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.49. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $118.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.38 EPS. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.