Zions Bancorporation N.A. Sells 45 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 171 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $80,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $257,655,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,977,000 after buying an additional 324,188 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $465.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a PE ratio of -235.63 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $476.44 and its 200 day moving average is $470.57. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

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.