Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Sells 83 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,567 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $459.00 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $435.75 and its 200 day moving average is $461.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.96.

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.