Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 138 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Morse Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,977 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 1.0% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $468.29 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $355.66 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $473.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $475.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -235.32 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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.