Fifth Third Bancorp Has $8.70 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,223 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,001 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 90,129 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,298,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 314,889 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $123,323,000 after purchasing an additional 26,922 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 62,791 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,591,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $257,000. Finally, Camden National Bank boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the third quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 20,892 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,182,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $214,560.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,682,677.48. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 99,352 shares of company stock worth $45,037,314 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.9%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $477.32 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $461.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.53.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.