Hancock Whitney Corp Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hancock Whitney Corp lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,708 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,474,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,082 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,302,000 after buying an additional 4,036 shares during the period. Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,589,000. Finally, CCM Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $12,200,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2 %

VRTX stock opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $473.27 and its 200-day moving average is $474.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.28 billion, a PE ratio of -234.71 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

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.