Amalgamated Bank Lowers Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Amalgamated Bank cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,540 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,649 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,485,000 after acquiring an additional 5,514 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $816,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after purchasing an additional 89,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $400.16. 1,041,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,224,676. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $410.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.54. The company has a market cap of $103.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $320.01 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a 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 note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

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.