Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,150,132 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 13,538 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $454,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $10,059,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $1,286,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,231,000 after buying an additional 6,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4%

VRTX opened at $472.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $119.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.29 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $454.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.05. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $522.68.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.