Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 10,543 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 630,289 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 10,543 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $285,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $451.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $438.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $453.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.