Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 69.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 899 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,495,501,000 after buying an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,374,948,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3 %

VRTX stock opened at $483.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $124.16 billion, a PE ratio of -219.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $463.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.17.

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.