Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 1,653 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 443,048 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,653 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 0.7% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $214,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Aries Wealth Management bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,954,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.0% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 189.7% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 359,285 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $139,724,000 after acquiring an additional 235,265 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $443.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $458.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.38. The company has a market capitalization of $113.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.15 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast 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.