Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,330 shares and leaving it with 527,864 shares valued at about $239.3 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $4.47 versus the $4.24 consensus, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on VRTX, with 22 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings, and an average price target of $555.91 despite the stock trading down about 2% to $438.40.

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 527,864 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 9,330 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $239,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after purchasing an additional 444,990 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $149,291,000 after purchasing an additional 319,725 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $438.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $111.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $438.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $451.92. 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 posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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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