Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 923 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,172 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 923 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $28,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,550,000 after buying an additional 26,523 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $148,485,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $816,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of VRTX traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $395.84. 170,024 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,230,487. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $316.43 and a 1 year high of $448.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $414.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $396.74.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

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.