Vontobel Holding Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 113,296 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 45,534 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $52,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,763,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $483.18. 250,354 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,170,849. The business’s 50 day moving average is $473.84 and its 200-day moving average is $458.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The company has a market capitalization of $124.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -238.57 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $488.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,487 shares of company stock valued at $14,657,149. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.