Country Trust Bank Sells 250 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Country Trust Bank decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,091 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $43,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after buying an additional 394,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,487 shares of company stock worth $14,657,149 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $458.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.78 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $475.76 and its 200 day moving average is $456.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.90 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.95.

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.