Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Sells 33 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 537 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 6,648 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.07, for a total transaction of $2,785,977.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,406.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 6,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.07, for a total transaction of $2,785,977.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 2,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,015,406.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,029 shares of company stock valued at $7,989,227 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $418.21. The company had a trading volume of 502,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,311,157. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $423.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $390.87. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $310.90 and a 1 year high of $448.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $379.00 price target (up previously from $332.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their target price for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $417.27.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.