Huntington National Bank Sells 843 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Huntington National Bank lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $483.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $479.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.81. The stock has a market cap of $124.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.17.

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.