Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Cassia Capital Partners LLC

Cassia Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 45.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 895 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 742 shares during the quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during 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 last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during 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 last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $137,783,000 after buying an additional 55,739 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $11.84 on Friday, reaching $469.32. 1,192,085 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,556,630. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -235.84, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $435.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $462.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $502.58.

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.