Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Sells 296 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 28.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 742 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $1.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $481.24. 999,698 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,826. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $480.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $444.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 0.39. 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 52 week low of $340.83 and a 52 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,065 shares of company stock valued at $22,731,946. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.