Sepio Capital LP Sells 1,483 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sepio Capital LP decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,308 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,483 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,644,492,000 after acquiring an additional 87,397 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,605,146,000 after purchasing an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,237,877,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after buying an additional 89,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after buying an additional 131,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of VRTX traded up $6.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $456.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,050,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,214,983. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $412.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.09. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $457.66. The stock has a market cap of $117.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its 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 net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Maxim Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction 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 approximately $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.