Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,064 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third 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 last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $407.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -204.58 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $456.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $470.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.