Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Takes $4.44 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 11,030 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,442,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $488.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $448.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.