Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Sells 33 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,350 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Bank of America cut 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 note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $413.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $467.53. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.45 billion, a PE ratio of -207.72 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.