Lbp Am Sa Buys 4,938 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Lbp Am Sa lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,279 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,938 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $535.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.41 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $449.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.85. The stock has a market cap of $118.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.