Associated Banc Corp Has $4.24 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Associated Banc Corp lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,119 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 362 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $461.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $473.55 and a 200-day moving average of $474.04. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $346.29 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.02 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.