Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 2,160 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 444,701 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 0.5% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $179,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 12,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,850,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,186 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 592 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 188,949 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,090,000 after acquiring an additional 75,653 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 22,259 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,964,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $462.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $435.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.79. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.96.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.