Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 9,073 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 73,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,073 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $33,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,373.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 361,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,119,000 after purchasing an additional 336,573 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $149,291,000 after purchasing an additional 319,725 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 81,853 shares of company stock worth $38,479,135. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $429.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $450.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $449.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on 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 decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17.

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.