Eastern Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Eastern Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,620 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 15,494 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,239,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,682 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,885,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,633 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $413.37 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -207.72 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.38.

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.