Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 511,428 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.20% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $242,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $460.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $482.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.85 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $431.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

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.