Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,781 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,495,501,000 after buying an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,170,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100,114 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $486.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.01, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $443.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.