Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Position Boosted by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp boosted its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 105.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 9,803 shares and bringing its total position to 19,095 shares valued at about $8.7 million.
• Vertex recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share, topping estimates, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on the stock, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $555.17, even as the shares traded at $435.93 in the article.

Allstate Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 105.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,095 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,803 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 444,990 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,317,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted 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 last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares during 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 $435.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $440.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.25. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus 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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