Slow Capital Inc. Acquires 51 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Slow Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 0.9% of Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sfmg LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,142,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,715,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,722 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 445,187 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $181,142,000 after buying an additional 18,186 shares during the period. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 5,135 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded down $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $393.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 279,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,792. The company has a market capitalization of $101.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $415.28 and its 200-day moving average is $396.78. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $316.43 and a 1 year high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.