Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 10,154 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 366,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 10,154 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $166,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 252.5% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 860 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,165,000. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,306 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,261 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,812,000 after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 74,314 shares of company stock worth $35,007,953. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of VRTX opened at $453.06 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $446.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $450.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.17.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.