Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 77,394 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,086,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
NASDAQ VRTX opened at $447.54 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $439.06 and a 200 day moving average of $451.64. The company has a market capitalization 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. 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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