Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 646 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 38.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on 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. Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded down $6.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $440.21. The stock had a trading volume of 428,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,414,228. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $470.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.47. The stock has a market cap of $113.05 billion, a PE ratio of -200.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.