Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Ifrah Financial Services Inc.

Ifrah Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,557 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Ifrah Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,375 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Maxim Group lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $401.08. 1,064,066 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,237. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $320.01 and a twelve month high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The firm has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $409.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $399.73.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.