Huntington National Bank Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Huntington National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,229 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,118 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.9% in the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 3,369 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 985.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,641 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 1,466 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $483.96 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -243.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $470.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.