Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 257,160 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 66.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,714 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 257,160 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $55,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,282,180 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,066,396,000 after buying an additional 298,824 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,605,146,000 after buying an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,567,664 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,451,647,000 after buying an additional 195,080 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $1,237,877,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $467.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $120.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $434.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $420.86. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $335.82 and a one year high of $486.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $443.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,086 shares of company stock valued at $11,983,266. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.