Voya Investment Management LLC Has $168.85 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 432,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 267,387 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $168,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

VRTX opened at $447.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $429.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.94.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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.