Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,781 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $486.22 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $443.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

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.