Commerce Bank Grows Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 775 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $450.97 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $474.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $472.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -226.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.