Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $160.26 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank trimmed its stake in Vertex by 9.0% to 353,488 shares (about $160.26 million), and institutions now own roughly 90.96% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $555, while several firms recently raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $612, BofA to $598).
• Insiders sold about 80,431 shares (~$37.9M) over the past three months; Vertex reported a slight EPS miss ($5.03 vs. $5.05) but revenue rose 9.5%, and the stock trades near $441 with a market cap of ~$112.2B.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,488 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 34,823 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.14% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $160,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $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 during the 2nd quarter valued at about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted 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 last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank increased their price target 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 raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $577.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $441.20 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $461.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $448.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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