Vestor Capital LLC Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vestor Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 96.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 346 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 9,390 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 191,053 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,937,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 12,055 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,856,000 after buying an additional 3,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 15,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,111,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $470.13 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $449.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -119.93 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $511.71.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.