Generali Investments Management Co LLC Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Generali Investments Management Co LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,926 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,628,850. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $523.91 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $476.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $462.23. The stock has a market cap of $132.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $546.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

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.