Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,485 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 176 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $413.37 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $106.45 billion, a PE ratio of -207.72 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $447.69 and a 200-day moving average of $467.53. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share 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.