Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Reduced by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Provident Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,258 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,148 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 6.2% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $67,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%

VRTX stock opened at $435.17 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $110.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $448.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $449.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,643,054.65. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $301,537.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,284 shares in the company, valued at $3,542,573.40. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 81,853 shares of company stock valued at $38,479,135. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.