Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Decreases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 45.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,825 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $455.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -228.75, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $435.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $462.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 earnings per share 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.