Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 153 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $438.40 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $112.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.30, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $434.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.49.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.