Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Sold by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Provident Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,577 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,151 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 6.9% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $68,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, City Holding Co. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 128.1% during the second quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 73 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective (up from $515.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $523.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $523.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $483.59. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $403.16 and a one year high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.