Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 821 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $445.43 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -202.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $468.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

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). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Fourteen investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.