Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 55.1% in the first quarter, selling 414,856 shares and leaving it with 337,569 shares valued at about $150.1 million.
• Insider selling continued, with Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia and CMO Carmen Bozic both selling shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans; insiders sold 16,215 shares worth roughly $7.27 million over the last quarter.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus, 22 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $555.91 after several firms raised targets.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 55.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 414,856 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.13% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $150,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambient Family Office LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambient Family Office LLC now owns 705 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 874 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 34.4% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 168 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% during the first quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 919 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,042 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,251,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 1,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.17, for a total value of $471,413.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,754.61. This represents a 6.02% 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 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $491.34 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $442.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.24. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $507.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS 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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