Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Sells 1,567 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.3% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heirloom Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Heirloom Wealth Management now owns 20,199 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,157,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Signature Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 4,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners LLC now owns 30,087 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,956,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of VRTX opened at $446.54 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $469.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $443.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $510.77. The company has a market cap of $113.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.