MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $26.46 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,198 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 762 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,014.3% in the 1st quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.1% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 11,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total transaction of $4,331,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,400,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $887,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,266,135. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $4,331,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,400,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,411 shares of company stock valued at $18,511,525. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $356.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.08 and a quick ratio of 3.89. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $282.21 and a 1 year high of $387.42. The firm has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $350.73.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 22.79% and a net margin of 35.94%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.62 EPS. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $359.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.13.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO and SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF homozygous F508del mutation for CF patients 2 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 4 months or older who have CF with a mutation that is responsive to ivacaftor, and R117H mutation or one of certain gating mutations.