Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Decreases Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 40.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,153 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,550 shares during the quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 330 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $678,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $190,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,649 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $4.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $410.35. The stock had a trading volume of 588,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 928,140. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $456.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $470.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -206.21 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 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.