iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $13.80 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,915 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,770 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $13,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $166,317,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% 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. Insiders sold a total of 15,833 shares of company stock worth $7,120,702 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $496.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $444.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $455.05. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $507.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

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.