Leuthold Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Leuthold Group LLC increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,564 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 16,407 shares worth about $7.44 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $4.47 EPS versus the $4.24 consensus, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $555.17, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Leuthold Group LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,407 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $64,417,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $956,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $4,695,000. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 220,346 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $86,296,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $436.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $110.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $445.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $450.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.17.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 79,802 shares of company stock valued at $37,402,568 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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