Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 68,702 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,144 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 68,702 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $148,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FORA Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the third quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 9,402 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,475 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,476,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 49,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,819,000 after buying an additional 25,375 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $464.56 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $346.29 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $473.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $474.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market cap of $119.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -233.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.