Aberdeen Group plc Has $118.81 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 262,057 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 52,832 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.10% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $118,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after purchasing an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of 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. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,276,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $891,744,000 after buying an additional 95,565 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $438.71 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $510.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $468.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.29.

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 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 business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $459,600.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares in the company, valued at $6,643,054.65. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $554.30.

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.