CI Investments Inc. Trims Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.3% in Q3, selling 2,137 shares and leaving 10,991 shares worth about $4.31 million.
• Corporate insiders sold 91,156 shares (≈$42.85 million) in the last quarter, including EVP Duncan McKechnie and EVP Ourania Tatsis; insiders now own only 0.20% of the company.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (22 Buys, 5 Holds) and a consensus price target of $542; recent quarterly EPS was $5.03 (missed by $0.02) on $3.19 billion revenue.

CI Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,137 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $17,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,983,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $5,030,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $213,435,000 after acquiring an additional 20,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,286,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $548.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $477.89 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The company's 50 day moving average is $467.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.10. The company has a market cap of $121.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.