Geller Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Geller Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 71.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 586 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,434 shares during the period. Geller Advisors LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 30,111 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,126,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 140,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,826,000 after buying an additional 17,809 shares in the last quarter. Elefante Mark B acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,833,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 275,082 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $110,776,000 after purchasing an additional 97,611 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $425.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $109.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -193.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $488.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.87.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm 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 firm posted $4.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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