Alta Wealth Advisors LLC Has $869,000 Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,792 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5%

VRTX stock opened at $443.40 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $455.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.02. The company has a market capitalization of $113.87 billion, a PE ratio of -113.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.