First Trust Advisors LP Has $136.85 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 52.2% in the first quarter, ending with 306,461 shares worth about $136.85 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on VRTX, with UBS, RBC, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley all lifting price targets; the stock currently carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target of $559.61.
• Vertex reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.47 to beat estimates and revenue of $2.99 billion, while shares recently traded around $473 and the company continues to benefit from its cystic fibrosis drug franchise.

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 52.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 306,461 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 105,171 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.12% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $136,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $473.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $120.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $464.96 and its 200-day moving average is $459.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS 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.

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