Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Sells 15,009 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 67,573 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,009 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $299,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 15,568 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,943 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 140.7% during the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 21,785 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,389,000 after acquiring an additional 12,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% in the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 614 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $538.60 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $412.27 and a 52-week high of $568.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $522.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $483.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.34.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($0.06). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 30.70% and a return on equity of 21.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $654.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $665.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $595.00 to $619.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF). Vertex’s CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.