Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Buys New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 13,604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,165,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. This trade represents a 21.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,314 shares of company stock worth $35,007,953. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $453.06 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $446.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $450.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The company has a market cap of $114.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.