Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys 8,720 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 354.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,182 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 8,720 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX traded down $19.00 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $448.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,191,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,779. The business has a 50-day moving average of $476.31 and a 200-day moving average of $472.56. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $346.29 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $115.38 billion, a PE ratio of -226.57 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business'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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.12.

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.