Chase Investment Counsel Corp Has $3.28 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,063 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,185 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,213,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $498,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $6.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $496.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 529,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,379. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $475.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $470.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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.