Evercore Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,823 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 137.3% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 484 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,657 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 871 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $4,185,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $492.42 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $126.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.83, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $488.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.82.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.