Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 19,400 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,881 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 19,400 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.0% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old North State Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 111 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VRTX. SVB Securities cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $374.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $296.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 19th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, SVB Leerink lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $374.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Yuchun Lee sold 1,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.03, for a total transaction of $460,180.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,806.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.05, for a total value of $3,150,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,227,849.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Yuchun Lee sold 1,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.03, for a total value of $460,180.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,806.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,916 shares of company stock valued at $12,466,970. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6 %

VRTX stock opened at $295.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $233.01 and a 1-year high of $325.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.78% and a net margin of 37.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a global biotechnology company, which engages in the business of discovering, developing, manufacturing, and commercializing small molecule drugs for patients with serious diseases. The firm focuses on development and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, infectious diseases including viral infections such as influenza and bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and neurological disorders including pain and multiple sclerosis.