<div id="readability-page-1"><p>F M Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of  Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor  owned 42,463 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,731 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for  0.7% of F M Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. F M Investments LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $19,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Vertex Pharmaceuticals</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Biotech Stock Breakout: IBB Eyes Resistance with Amgen and Vertex</li></ul><p>Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000.  Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000.  GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of  Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000.  Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000.  Finally, Founders Capital Management raised its position in  Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own  90.96% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2><p>A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright  reaffirmed a &#34;buy&#34; rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the company an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating and a $480.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus price target of $492.50.</p><ul><li>Will the Biotech Sector Shift From Lagger to Leader?</li></ul><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on VRTX</b></p><h2>Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance</h2><p>VRTX opened at $471.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.08 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.90 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. </p><ul><li>Biotech Sector Nears Breakout: Will it Outperform in Q2?</li></ul><p>Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share.  Equities analysts forecast that  Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2><p>In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,710 shares of company stock worth $3,298,206 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. </p><h2>Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Vertex Pharmaceuticals</li><li>Dividend Capture Strategy: What You Need to Know</li><li>Battle of the Retailers: Who Comes Out on Top?</li><li>Insider Trading - What You Need to Know</li><li>HCA Healthcare: Temporary Setbacks, Long-Term Strength</li><li>How is Compound Interest Calculated?</li><li>MarketBeat Week in Review – 10/28 - 11/1</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9VlJUWA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9VlJUWA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><p>→ We recommended Nvidia in 2016, now we’re recommending this… <span><span>(From Porter &amp; Company)</span> <span>(Ad)</span></span><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/TriggeredCampaignPixel.ashx/query-UGxhY2VtZW50PU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmU291cmNlPU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmVHJpZ2dlcmVkQ2FtcGFpZ25JRD0xMDEzMQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" height="1" width="1" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/TriggeredCampaignPixel.ashx/query-UGxhY2VtZW50PU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmU291cmNlPU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmVHJpZ2dlcmVkQ2FtcGFpZ25JRD0xMDEzMQ"/></p><h2>Should you invest $1,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals right now?</h2><p>Before you consider Vertex Pharmaceuticals, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. 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VRTX

<p>F M Investments LLC reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 10% in Q3, now holding 42,463 shares valued at $7,749,000. Other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions. Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $329.50. Vertex's recent earnings report showed a loss of $0.83 per share, missing estimates, with revenue of $0.65 billion. The stock opened at $329.12, with a market cap of $83.60 billion and a P/E ratio of -232.08.</p>

F M Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)