Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Greenwood Capital Associates LLC

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 35.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,893 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,572 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 362,334 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $145,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,855 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $7.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $460.06. 1,074,482 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,416,995. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -209.12, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day moving average is $463.17 and its 200-day moving average is $460.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.