Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 75,653 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 66.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,949 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,653 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $76,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $462.58 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $435.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.79.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.