Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Sells 97 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.8 %

VRTX opened at $513.76 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $459.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $131.93 billion, a PE ratio of -233.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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.