Invesco Ltd. Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8%, selling 52,817 shares, and now owns approximately 1.84 million shares valued at $894.8 million.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has received positive ratings from several analysts, with price targets ranging from $439 to $553, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In a recent earnings report, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported earnings per share of $4.52, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $2.94 billion, marking an 11.3% year-over-year increase.

Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,845,640 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 52,817 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.72% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $894,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $8.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $395.92. 1,911,169 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,648,344. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $448.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.96. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.