Lbp Am Sa Acquires 22,918 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Lbp Am Sa grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 67,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,918 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $30,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during 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 during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $441.70 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $510.77. The company has a market capitalization of $112.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $462.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $447.15.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 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 $930,529.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.00.

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.