Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Bensler LLC

Bensler LLC reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,968 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,943 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 7,033 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $445.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $114.77 billion, a PE ratio of -224.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $435.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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.