Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Lipe & Dalton

Lipe & Dalton lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,581 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Lipe & Dalton’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,848,000. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $497,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.71.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $464.21. The company had a trading volume of 201,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,880. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $448.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.07. The stock has a market cap of $119.21 billion, a PE ratio of -118.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.