Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Capital International Ltd. CA

Capital International Ltd. CA reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,612 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 25,675 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.5% of Capital International Ltd. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Capital International Ltd. CA’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $43,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,435,000 after acquiring an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,695,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

VRTX stock opened at $446.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $113.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $437.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.