Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. Sells 5,421 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Capital Group Investment Management reduced its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,421 shares and ending with 20,865 shares worth about $9.46 million.
• Vertex reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.47 versus estimates of $4.24 while revenue came in at $2.99 billion, in line with expectations and up 8.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with 22 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings, though Wall Street Zen recently downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and the consensus price target stands at $555.91.

Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,421 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 1.5% of Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 726.9% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 293,301 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $123,154,000 after buying an additional 257,829 shares in the last quarter. Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $933,000. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 36,690 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $16,634,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,315,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $446.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $437.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.81.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.91.

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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