Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $188.30 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 421,688 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 83,360 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $188,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after buying an additional 11,306 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,779,000 after acquiring an additional 33,917 shares during the period. Sandro Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $15,625,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 67,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

VRTX stock opened at $477.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $533.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $465.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. 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.