Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Position Increased by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 101.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,759 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 40,766 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $32,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,374,948,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $492.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.