Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,746 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,660 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after purchasing an additional 482,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $476.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $449.93 and a 200 day moving average of $426.83. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.58.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.