Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 1,358 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,304 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,358 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after purchasing an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,373.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 361,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,119,000 after purchasing an additional 336,573 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $443.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $112.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $510.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $465.41 and its 200-day moving average is $445.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.