AGF Management Ltd. Has $539,000 Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

AGF Management Ltd. lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 50.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,338 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 72,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,074,000 after purchasing an additional 32,997 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 22,694 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,139,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $504.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $457.74 and a 200-day moving average of $461.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -229.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.