Bank of Nova Scotia Has $15.79 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 63.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,361 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 62,559 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,306 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,779,000 after purchasing an additional 33,917 shares during the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the first quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 67,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $477.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $465.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.80. The firm has a market cap of $121.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.