Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 40.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 293,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 198,252 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $62,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 205.6% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 90.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Several brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Citigroup Inc. 3% Minimum Coupon Principal Protected Based Upon Russell dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 11th. Truist Securities upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $305.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Investment Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $226.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 11th. Finally, Truist lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $305.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $273.59.
In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.69, for a total value of $117,216.71. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,465 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,955.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.06, for a total transaction of $839,177.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,510,313.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,089 shares of company stock valued at $1,527,127. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Shares of VRTX traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $191.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,810. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.68. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $188.01 and a 1-year high of $306.08.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 29th. The pharmaceutical company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.60. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 43.06% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis. The company markets SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI, ORKAMBI, and KALYDECO to treat patients with cystic fibrosis who have specific mutations in their cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene; and TRIKAFTA for the treatment of patients with CF 12 years of age or older who have at least one F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, or CFTR, gene.
Read More: Why do company’s buyback their stock?