Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 10,154 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,154 shares and leaving it with 366,341 shares worth about $166.1 million.
• Analysts remain largely positive on VRTX, with several firms raising price targets; MarketBeat reports an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $555.17.
• Vertex posted better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $4.47 per share versus estimates of $4.24, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion and rose 8.3% year over year.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 366,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 10,154 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.14% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $166,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,279,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $108,456.05. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,209.35. This trade represents a 3.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 74,314 shares of company stock worth $35,007,953 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $453.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $114.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $446.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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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