This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
ETF flows have leaned toward selling Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) for three straight sessions, and Thursday, Oct. 22, extended the streak. The stock saw $10.8 million in net ETF selling for the day. More funds traded the other way, with 38 ETFs buying versus 12 selling, but the sellers moved larger amounts. The prior two sessions brought net selling of $10.4 million on Oct. 21 and $9.5 million on Oct. 20.
See which funds are buying and selling on GuruFocus ETF Trends, or find and compare funds with the ETF Screener.
Every ETF and guru trade in VRTX is tracked on the VRTX guru trades page.
Which ETFs sold VRTX on Thursday?
The largest sellers by dollar value were IBB ($6.6 million), CGGR ($5.4 million) and XLV ($3.6 million). In all, 38 ETFs added shares and 12 cut them.
IBB accounted for the largest share of the move, cutting 12,264 shares for a $6.6 million reduction in value, a 0.77% stake change at a 7.84% weight. CGGR trimmed 10,145 shares, a $5.4 million value change and a 0.99% stake reduction. XLV shed 6,650 shares for $3.6 million, and JEPQ reduced 4,878 shares for $2.6 million. The selling came from broad healthcare and growth funds holding Vertex, a Healthcare sector Biotechnology company with a market cap of $132.8 billion.
Have ETFs been buying or selling VRTX lately?
Over the last 5 reported days, ETFs were net buyers on 1 and net sellers on 4, so the recent trend is mostly selling.
What does VRTX do?
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company with a global monopoly in medicines treating the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis. Its CFTR modulator franchise, led by Trikafta/Kaftrio and the newer once-daily Alyftrek, treats the large majority of the roughly 90,000 people with CF in developed markets, generating over $11 billion in annual revenue.
Vertex reported $12.70 billion in trailing-12-month revenue, up 13.1% over one year. Gross margin was 86.1% and net margin 34.7%. The stock trades at a P/E of 30.48, P/B of 6.56 and P/S of 10.57, with a market cap of $132.8 billion. Its GF Score is 87, and GF Value of $533.79 compares with a price of $523.93. Vertex has returned 15.57% year to date.