BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 11,591 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 396,019 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,591 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $184,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $451.23 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $475.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.74. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the 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 directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.