Empirical Finance LLC Sells 103 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,813 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $248,000. LVW Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 792 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.2% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,425 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.8% in the third quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 570 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,045 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.5 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $469.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.86 billion, a PE ratio of -235.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $435.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $462.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.58.

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.