Lbp Am Sa Acquires 22,918 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa boosted its stake in Vertex by 51.8%, purchasing 22,918 shares to hold 67,197 shares valued at about $30.46 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Company insiders have been net sellers—80,431 shares (~$37.9 million) were sold in the last 90 days, including EVP Amit Sachdev's sale of 58,613 shares for roughly $27.48 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $555, following multiple recent target increases and upgrades.

Lbp Am Sa lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 51.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,918 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $30,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. This trade represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,630,027.22. This trade represents a 49.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $441.70 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $462.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $447.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $510.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Evercore increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $548.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.00.

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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