Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 76.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 634 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 872 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $600,000. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the third quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 896 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.1% during the third quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 3,617 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,682,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $3.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $484.24. 1,444,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,540,244. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $435.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.