Bank of Montreal Can Sells 50,652 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 363,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 50,652 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.14% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $161,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $439.00 to $438.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $492.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $426.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 0.43. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $402.45 and a 200-day moving average of $431.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($12.83) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.