BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Purchases 39,005 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 370.6% in the first quarter, adding 39,005 shares to bring its total to 49,531 shares valued at about $22.1 million.
• Vertex reported Q1 earnings of $4.47 per share, topping analyst estimates, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with 22 Buy ratings, 3 Hold ratings, and an average price target of $555.91; meanwhile, several executives recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 370.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,531 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 39,005 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $451.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $114.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $438.71 and a 200-day moving average of $453.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,195 shares of company stock valued at $6,801,006. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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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