Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 26.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 11,570 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after acquiring an additional 243,088 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,482,978,000 after acquiring an additional 444,990 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,697,716,000 after purchasing an additional 65,047 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $451.59 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $515.67.

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

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.