Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by LVW Advisors LLC

LVW Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $422.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $440.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $466.06. The company has a market cap of $108.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -212.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.38.

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.