Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Lowers Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 970 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 417 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 1,264 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,475 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,530,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $500.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -227.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $473.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $463.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.