Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $148.89 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its holdings in shares of 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 SEC. The firm owned 320,144 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 68,702 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.12% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $148,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $662,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,213,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $464.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $119.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -233.45 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $346.29 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $473.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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.

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

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.