11,692 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Purchased by Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,692 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,301,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,133 shares of company stock worth $4,973,106 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $453.17 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $437.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $452.82.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Citigroup increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.