Hancock Whitney Corp Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,708 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the second quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $120.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.71 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $473.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $346.29 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

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.