Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC Cuts Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,313 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Commerce Bank grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,462,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $756,381,000 after purchasing an additional 20,361 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,119 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covenant Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the third quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 12,764 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,936,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $503.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $129.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -228.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $467.89 and a 200 day moving average of $462.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.