Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 568 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 641 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $488.29 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $448.27 and its 200 day moving average is $461.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.39 billion, a PE ratio of -221.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

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.