Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,478 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $473.27 and a 200-day moving average of $474.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.