Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 55.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 337,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 414,856 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $150,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $491.34 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $442.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.