New York Life Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

New York Life Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 40,409 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,342 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $16,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Maxim Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $402.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $103.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $410.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $399.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 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.