Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 66.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,949 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 75,653 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $76,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after acquiring an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after acquiring an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after acquiring an additional 100,114 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $462.11. 1,405,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,546,074. The business has a fifty day moving average of $435.39 and a 200 day moving average of $460.67. 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 firm has a market cap of $119.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.22, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.57.

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.