Kestra Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kestra Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 68.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 731 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,584 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,533 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 576 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 849 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $471.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -214.44, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $435.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $460.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Truist Financial raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.57.

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.