Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd Sells 3,928 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 52.7%, selling 3,928 shares and now holding 3,532 shares, which are valued at approximately $1.71 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with a target price averaging around $497.10.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings increase, with $4.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $4.24.

Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 52.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,532 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,928 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 0.3% of Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 target price (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 report on Friday, May 23rd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $455.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $385.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $453.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $466.25. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $372.35 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $99.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.

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