M&T Bank Corp Sells 341 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,526 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position 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 worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $485.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market cap of $124.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $446.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $461.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.