iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,538 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.6%, selling 5,538 shares and bringing its total holdings to 35,324 shares worth approximately $17.1 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Polar Asset Management and APG Asset Management, significantly increased their investments in Vertex, with APG's stake growing by 189.7% in the previous quarter.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals received various updates from analysts, including a downgrade from strong-buy to hold, with the current average price target set at $509.89.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,538 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,833,889 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,141,277,000 after purchasing an additional 317,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,721,049 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,095,766,000 after buying an additional 355,057 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $10.02 on Thursday, hitting $375.63. 3,980,060 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,836,488. The company has a market cap of $96.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $452.30 and a 200-day moving average of $465.93. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $372.35 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.