W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Sells 160 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,246 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 1.8% of W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,799 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,756 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB now owns 22,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,963,000 after purchasing an additional 5,264 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $484.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of -220.11, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $436.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.57. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

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.