Chicago Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Chicago Capital LLC lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,218 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after buying an additional 55,739 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $461.68 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.00, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.93.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.