Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spinnaker Trust lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,510,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 12,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,850,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,186 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $459.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $435.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Citigroup began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded 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 on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.57.

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.