Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 427,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 47,219 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 2.5% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $194,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 15,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,290 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,398,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 770.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 87 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 2,335 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $429.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $450.45 and its 200 day moving average is $449.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 81,853 shares of company stock worth $38,479,135 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.