Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 329 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,921 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 329 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $455.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $435.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $462.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.