Clearstead Trust LLC Lowers Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Clearstead Trust LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $27,000 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% in the third quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during 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 position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $816,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after acquiring an additional 89,217 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

VRTX traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $401.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,064,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,237. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $320.01 and a 52-week high of $448.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $409.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $400.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39.

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

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.