Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Sells 6,572 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 35.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,893 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,572 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $452.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $116.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -205.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $463.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $503.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.