First Turn Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

First Turn Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,222 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,470 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 2.6% of First Turn Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. First Turn Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $16,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after acquiring an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,135,556,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $312,579,000 after purchasing an additional 6,716 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $467.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $346.29 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $476.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $472.56.

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

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.