Modera Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Modera Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,853 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,252 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after buying an additional 482,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $535.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.10.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.41 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $449.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.21. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The company has a market cap of $118.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.