Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 807,100 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 21,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.31% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $328,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $402.01. 482,837 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,217,965. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $320.01 and a twelve month high of $448.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $410.17 and a 200 day moving average of $399.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.