J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Purchases 1,195 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 39.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $480.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $458.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $458.47. 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.