AIA Group Ltd Purchases 5,766 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 31.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,366 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,766 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,282,180 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,066,396,000 after buying an additional 298,824 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,872,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,567,664 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,451,647,000 after buying an additional 195,080 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,237,877,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

VRTX stock traded down $3.39 on Friday, reaching $488.74. 839,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,215,771. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $496.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $461.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $431.73. The company has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $1,111,135.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares in the company, valued at $13,557,311.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,646 shares of company stock worth $14,169,923 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.