Kestra Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kestra Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 68.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 731 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,584 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted 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 worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $662,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $505.61.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $3.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $483.85. The stock had a trading volume of 740,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,519,651. The company has a market capitalization of $124.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.23, a PEG ratio of 2.07 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. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $435.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $460.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.