Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 25 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 576 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings 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 worth $37,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% in 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 last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,213,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,008,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $474.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $122.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $475.63 and its 200 day moving average is $461.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial reiterated 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $477.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $492.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,005 shares of company stock worth $5,988,066 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.