Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Reduced by Jennison Associates LLC

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its stake in Vertex by 5.9% in Q4 and now holds 3,249,541 shares (about 1.28%) worth roughly $1.47 billion, while institutional investors own about 90.96% of the stock.
• Insider selling accelerated last quarter — CMO Carmen Bozic and EVP Jonathan Biller disclosed sales (2,329 and 1,925 shares respectively), with insiders selling a total of 80,431 shares valued at about $37.9 million and now owning 0.20% of the company.
• Several analysts raised price targets (Oppenheimer to $600, Barclays to $607, BofA to $598), leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,249,541 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 205,406 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 1.28% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,473,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,585,692.17. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $426.23 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $454.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $449.08. The firm has a market cap of $108.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $509.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.74 EPS for the current year.

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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