abrdn plc Cuts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

abrdn plc lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 347,570 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 23,519 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.13% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $139,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $470.37 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.75. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.58.

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.