Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac Acquires Shares of 9,876 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac initiated a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, buying 9,876 shares valued at about $4.7 million in the fourth quarter.
• Vertex has continued to draw strong institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors holding 90.96% of the stock overall.
• Recent analyst action has been mostly positive: several firms raised ratings or targets, and Vertex reported Q1 earnings of $4.47 per share, beating estimates while revenue rose 8.3% year over year.

Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,876 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $4,717,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 530,841 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $240,662,000 after purchasing an additional 18,728 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 32,999 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $14,960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $580.00 target price for the company. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $447.97 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $507.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $439.14 and a 200 day moving average of $451.67. The firm has a market cap of $113.69 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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