Comerica Bank Sells 4,045 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,578 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,045 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $19,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $13.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $436.04. 1,474,868 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,596,329. The company has a market capitalization of $112.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -198.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $491.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.80. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.