Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $503.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $129.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -228.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $467.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) 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, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.