D.B. Root & Company LLC Sells 44 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

D.B. Root & Company LLC decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 867 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $428.00 on Thursday. 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 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.08, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $436.77 and a 200 day moving average of $465.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 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.