New Century Financial Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

New Century Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 889 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after acquiring an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $483.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -237.93 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $475.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $460.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,088,728.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,101,755 over the last quarter. 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.