Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 6,045 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,945 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,045 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $25,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Cambria Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,637,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,535,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 4,716 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,027 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Finally, Tweedy Browne Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 39,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,225. This represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total value of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,630,027.22. This represents a 49.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $451.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $469.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $439.57. The stock has a market cap of $114.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $515.67.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $577.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.