Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 244 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,957 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 802 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 47,326 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,058,000 after buying an additional 4,126 shares during the period. Fagan Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fagan Associates Inc. now owns 26,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,679,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 99.8% during the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 109.8% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $480.33 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $435.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $460.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.61.

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.