Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 435,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 142,613 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $177,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,337 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,259 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.9% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 2,715 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 342,373 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $119,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 839 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $402.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $410.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $399.54. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $320.01 and a 52-week high of $448.40.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.