SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 87.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 32,960 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after acquiring an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after buying an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after buying an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $439.62 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $435.36 and a 200 day moving average of $464.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $113.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.84.

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.