Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $312,000 Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 97.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 644 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 29,300 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,786 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded down $2.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $441.30. 3,615,473 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,238. The company has a 50-day moving average of $454.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.76. The company has a market capitalization of $113.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.58 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.62.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.