Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Reduces Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 64.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 965 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,519,302,000 after buying an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,374,948,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.17.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $483.49 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $124.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.