Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Roble Belko & Company Inc

Roble Belko & Company Inc lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 279 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,769 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,454 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,821,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 917 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 56 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

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $424.26 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $445.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $467.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 EPS for the current 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.