Prossimo Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Prossimo Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,049 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 8,278 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 141.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 662 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 211,804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $407.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $462.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $435.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.44. 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 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.