BNP Paribas Has $2.63 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

BNP Paribas decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,653 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 107.1% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 49,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,819,000 after purchasing an additional 25,375 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,001,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,530,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,673.1% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,802,000 after buying an additional 7,713 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2 %

VRTX opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.71 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $473.27 and its 200 day moving average is $474.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.38.

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.