Emfo LLC Sells 120 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Emfo LLC decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 47.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Emfo LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% in the third quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,550,000 after buying an additional 26,523 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,485,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $816,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after buying an additional 89,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.79, for a total value of $201,979.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,827 shares in the company, valued at $25,174,603.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $0.81 on Monday, hitting $397.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,373,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,933. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $416.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $396.14. The firm has a market cap of $102.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $316.43 and a twelve month high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 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.