Sentry Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 821 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $445.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $468.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market cap of $114.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.47, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $503.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.