Commerce Bank Takes $3.99 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 8,033 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,990,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,363,000 after buying an additional 11,306 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,779,000 after acquiring an additional 33,917 shares in the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda America Inc purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,911,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $547.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $138.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $555.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $494.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $466.46.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% 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 sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.