WCM Investment Management LLC Has $496.93 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• WCM Investment Management trimmed its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 0.7% in the first quarter, but still held 1.12 million shares valued at about $496.9 million.
• Vertex posted strong quarterly results, reporting $4.47 EPS and $2.99 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.3% year over year and earnings beating Wall Street estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of about $559.61, despite a few recent rating changes and insider sales.

WCM Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,121,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 7,804 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $496,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 447,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $202,612,000 after buying an additional 86,084 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 130.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 69,150 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,436,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $485.65 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $533.67. The stock has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29. The company's fifty day moving average is $462.54 and its 200-day moving average is $459.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.61.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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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