Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,664 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.9% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $46,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.3% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $312,000. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,624,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $484.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.11, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $436.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $460.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS 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, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.