Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 17% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,831 shares and leaving it with 28,530 shares valued at about $12.9 million.
• Vertex recently reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings of $4.47 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $2.99 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with 22 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings and an average price target of $555.91; several firms have recently raised or initiated targets on the stock.

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,530 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,831 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 20,053 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $4,695,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $447.54 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $439.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $451.64. The company has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $542.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

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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