Howe & Rusling Inc. Sells 198 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Howe & Rusling Inc. cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,894 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,519,302,000 after buying an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 43,331 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,449,000 after buying an additional 7,732 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 16,274 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,017 shares in the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $656,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 664,523 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $267,603,000 after purchasing an additional 114,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $500.28 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $473.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.34.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.