Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 54.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 110,642 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,844 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $43,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after buying an additional 482,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $460.68 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $432.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.90. The company has a market capitalization of $116.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.