Navellier & Associates Inc. Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Navellier & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 669 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $257,655,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after acquiring an additional 244,336 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $452.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $475.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.74.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.