Merlin Capital Inc Sells 30 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Merlin Capital Inc cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,982 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 2.6% of Merlin Capital Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Merlin Capital Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $2.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $394.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 366,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,205. 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 company has a market cap of $101.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $411.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $399.37. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $320.01 and a fifty-two week high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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 return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.