Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 646 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 38.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $436.00 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $476.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $462.63. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -198.18, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.