Lbp Am Sa Sells 5,818 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

LBP AM SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,541 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,818 shares during the quarter. LBP AM SA's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $25,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $12.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $478.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,044,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,307. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -122.18 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $449.35 and a 200 day moving average of $459.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.