Raiffeisen Bank International AG Acquires New Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 133,898 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,476,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned about 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $421.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.15 billion, a PE ratio of -191.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $485.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,978,465 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

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.