Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies reduced its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 16.5% in the first quarter, selling 83,360 shares and leaving it with 421,688 shares worth about $188.3 million.
• Vertex reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $4.47 EPS versus the $4.24 consensus estimate, while revenue of $2.99 billion matched expectations and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Wall Street remains generally positive on the stock, with 22 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy rating; the average target price is $559.61 after recent upgrades from UBS and Barclays.

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 421,688 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 83,360 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.17% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $188,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after buying an additional 83,539 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after buying an additional 44,537 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $477.36 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $465.77 and its 200-day moving average is $459.80. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $533.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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