Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,191 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $452.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $116.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -205.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $463.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $460.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.