National Bank of Canada FI Sells 75,698 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 32.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 75,698 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $62,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Truist Financial upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.0 %

VRTX stock opened at $484.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.34, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $478.85 and a 200-day moving average of $463.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’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 value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.