Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 537,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,336 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $210,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,630,027.22. This trade represents a 49.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $591.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $456.69 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68. The stock has a market cap of $116.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $467.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $435.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.