Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,092 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 119,549 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,423,000 after buying an additional 17,264 shares during the period. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,869 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,168,000. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $488.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $435.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.56. 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.58.

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.