6,857 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Bought by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,857 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,406,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,311,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $563.50.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $515.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $130.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $484.71 and a 200-day moving average of $463.96. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $374.17 and a 1-year high of $546.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.

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