Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Vertex by 124.0%, adding 15,286 shares to hold 27,610 shares worth about $12.52 million at quarter-end.
• Company insiders sold a total of 80,431 shares valued at roughly $37.9 million in the past three months (notable sales by EVP Joy Liu and CMO Carmen Bozic), and insiders now own about 0.20% of the stock.
• Sell-side analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $555, while Vertex trades with a market cap near $110.7 billion and a P/E of about 28.4.

M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 124.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,610 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,286 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% in the third quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total value of $439,288.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,806,728.61. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.6%

VRTX stock opened at $435.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $459.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $448.37. The stock has a market cap of $110.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.77 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $580.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.00.

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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