Northwest Bancshares Inc. Has $6.10 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,125 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,683 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.0% of Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $257,655,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after buying an additional 324,188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $448.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $475.85 and its 200 day moving average is $472.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $346.29 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.38 billion, a PE ratio of -225.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.