Credit Agricole S A Sells 41,043 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 42.4%, selling 41,043 shares and holding 55,672 shares valued at approximately $26.99 million.
• Institutional investors now own 90.96% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with Clal Insurance increasing its stake by 450% during the same period.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported $4.52 EPS for the latest quarter, beating estimates, with revenue of $2.94 billion, a year-over-year growth of 11.3%.

Credit Agricole S A decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 42.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 41,043 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $390.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $442.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $463.11. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.

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