Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 918 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.38.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $461.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $346.29 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $474.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.