Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 29,777 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 89.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,452 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 29,777 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its position 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. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $468.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $472.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $475.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $347.51 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.56 billion, a PE ratio of -235.24 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

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.