Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Position Reduced by Harbor Investment Advisory LLC

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,893 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 55,739 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $427.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $110.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -215.02, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.40. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $439.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.72.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.