National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 99,751 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 70.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 240,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 99,751 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $107,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $452.04 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $426.51 and a 200-day moving average of $425.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.