Patton Fund Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Patton Fund Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,515 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,588 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Williams & Novak LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $277,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,621,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $440.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $434.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $113.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.76.

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.