UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 112,249 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,329,219 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 112,249 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $937,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $440.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $481.88 and a 200 day moving average of $464.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $113.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -200.30, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.04.

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.