Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 26 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,478 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $346.29 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $473.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $474.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.