iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $13.80 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 18% in the first quarter, leaving it with 30,915 shares valued at about $13.8 million.
• Institutional ownership of Vertex remains very high at 90.96%, with several large funds increasing or initiating positions in the biotech company.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $4.47 per share and revenue of $2.99 billion, while analysts remain bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $555.91.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,915 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,770 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $13,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,521,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,317,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,833 shares of company stock valued at $7,120,702. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $542.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective 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, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $496.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $444.56 and a 200-day moving average of $455.05. The company has a market cap of $126.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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