Anchor Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Anchor Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 79.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 495 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,892 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $451.63 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $438.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

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.