Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,073 additional shares and bringing its total to 73,018 shares worth about $33.1 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, up 8.3% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $555.17, though one rating was recently cut to Hold.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 9,073 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $33,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,630,027.22. This represents a 49.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $886,327.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,585,692.17. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 81,853 shares of company stock worth $38,479,135. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $429.82 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The business's fifty day moving average price is $450.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $449.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.17.

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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