Bellevue Group AG Has $196.29 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bellevue Group AG lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 487,434 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 83,972 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 3.8% of Bellevue Group AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bellevue Group AG owned about 0.19% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $196,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.04.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $50.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $450.03. The stock had a trading volume of 7,998,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,270. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $491.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.80. The stock has a market cap of $115.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.56, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.