Empowered Funds LLC Sells 17,482 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 58.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 17,482 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $465.70 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.90 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $476.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $471.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.