Groupe la Francaise Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,989 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $2,933,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $721,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,059,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.85.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.9%

VRTX stock opened at $463.13 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The firm has a market cap of $117.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $419.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 53,604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.72, for a total transaction of $23,624,354.88. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,588,738.72. This trade represents a 69.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.