Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Raises Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 649.6% in the first quarter, holding 4,685 shares worth about $2.09 million.
• Institutional ownership of Vertex remains very high, with 90.96% of the stock held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, while several large funds also added to their positions.
• Vertex reported Q1 earnings of $4.47 per share, beating estimates, and analysts remain broadly positive with an average Moderate Buy rating and target price of about $559.61.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 649.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,685 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 4,060 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. 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 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $485.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $462.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.00. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $533.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.

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.