Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stake Cut by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 52,685 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 0.6% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $104,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $491.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $126.25 billion, a PE ratio of -223.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $445.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $461.33.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

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.