Assetmark Inc. Sells 117,030 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Assetmark Inc. trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 117,030 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $157,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,237,877,000. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,410,000 after acquiring an additional 384,730 shares during the period. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,378,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,605,146,000 after acquiring an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $978,388,000 after acquiring an additional 131,539 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $445.87. 742,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,215,635. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $409.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $404.53. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $432.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.