Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $42.58 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria trimmed its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, but still held 93,837 shares valued at about $42.6 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $4.47 EPS versus $4.24 expected, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion, up 8.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: several firms raised price targets, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $555.91.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,837 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,316 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $42,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $458.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $116.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $438.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.91.

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.

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