Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Trims Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,087 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 641 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

VRTX opened at $488.29 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $448.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.15.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.