Park National Corp OH Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Park National Corp OH acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,180 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 370.6% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 49,531 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,118,000 after acquiring an additional 39,005 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 731 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,490 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $379,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $451.63 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $438.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92. The company has a market capitalization of $114.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.