Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC

AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,110 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 3.0% of AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after acquiring an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after buying an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $474.50 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $438.74 and its 200 day moving average is $460.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -215.68, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.