Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 45,963 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Impax Asset Management Group plc decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,433 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 45,963 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $465.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $476.44 and a 200-day moving average of $470.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

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.