B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 39,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $18,600,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,135,556,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $312,579,000 after buying an additional 6,716 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $499.12.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $19.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $448.01. 2,191,299 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,183,779. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $476.31 and a 200 day moving average of $472.56. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $346.29 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $115.38 billion, a PE ratio of -226.57 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

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.