Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 766,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $356,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the 1st 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 period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $312,579,000 after purchasing an additional 6,716 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $18.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $465.70. 2,581,391 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,121. 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's fifty day moving average is $476.39 and its 200-day moving average is $472.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $519.88.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 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.