Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 43,543 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.8%, now owning 601,187 shares worth approximately $291 million.
• Multiple institutional investors also raised their holdings in Vertex, highlighting a trend where hedge funds own nearly 91% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Vertex, with price targets ranging from $460 to $550, reflecting varied outlooks on the company's performance.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 601,187 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,543 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 0.5% of Natixis Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.23% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $291,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,073 shares during the last quarter. 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in 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. Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during 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. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of VRTX traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $456.58. The company had a trading volume of 163,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,508,884. 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 company has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.57 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $455.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $466.12. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.