Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 2,742 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 79.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,742 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Advisory Resource Group boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,970 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,352.3% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $24,280,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,187,000. Finally, Destination Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 3,361 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $489.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $486.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -222.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.