Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 445,187 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 18,186 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 0.7% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $181,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Lipe & Dalton boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 5,135 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Investment Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $329,000. Keel Point LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 86,827 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,329,000 after buying an additional 3,856 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $394.17. The company had a trading volume of 693,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,152. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $415.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $396.46. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $316.43 and a fifty-two week high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.