Harmony Asset Management LLC Has $2.53 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Harmony Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,275 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 642 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.0% of Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $435.32 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $479.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.83. The firm has a market cap of $111.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -197.87, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.