Provident Investment Management Inc. Sells 850 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Provident Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,319 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 6.2% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $65,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,644,492,000 after purchasing an additional 87,397 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,605,146,000 after purchasing an additional 147,248 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,237,877,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after purchasing an additional 89,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $978,388,000 after purchasing an additional 131,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $10.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $446.88. 1,379,585 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,600. The company has a market cap of $115.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $407.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $320.01 and a 52 week high of $457.66.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.18.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.