OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Purchases Shares of 1,233 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 96.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 79,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,941,000 after buying an additional 4,269 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $510.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $466.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $462.64. The company has a market capitalization of $131.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -231.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results 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 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.