Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the first quarter, selling 13,912 shares and leaving it with 127,208 shares valued at about $56.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 22 analysts rating VRTX a Buy and only three a Hold; the consensus price target is $559.61, with several firms recently raising targets.
• Vertex reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.47 versus expectations of $4.24 and revenue of $2.99 billion, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year.

KBC Group NV cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 127,208 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 13,912 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $56,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 447,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $202,612,000 after purchasing an additional 86,084 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 832,853 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $377,582,000 after buying an additional 69,150 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,363,000 after buying an additional 11,306 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,779,000 after buying an additional 33,917 shares during the period. Finally, Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,436,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

VRTX stock opened at $480.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $463.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.19. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $533.67. The company has a market capitalization of $121.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. 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 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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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