Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $492.69 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $476.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $126.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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 the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.