Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 2,149 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 19.4% in the first quarter, selling 2,149 shares and leaving it with 8,927 shares worth about $3.99 million.
• Vertex reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.47 beating estimates and revenue of $2.99 billion matching expectations; revenue rose 8.3% year over year.
• Despite some insider selling and a small pullback by one institutional holder, analysts remain bullish overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $555.91 average price target.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,149 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $480.18 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92. The company has a market capitalization of $121.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $441.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $453.90.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.91.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.