Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Capital Market Strategies LLC

Capital Market Strategies LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $498,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $5.56 on Monday, hitting $401.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 674,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,172. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $455.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $470.19. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $103.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -201.78 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.