Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Sells 56,365 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 31.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,434 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 56,365 shares during the period. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $48,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $886,327.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,585,692.17. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,852 shares of company stock worth $45,787,299. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $476.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $463.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.53. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11 and a beta of 0.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.