Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stake Lessened by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 51,527 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,735 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $20,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $447.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -203.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $480.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.03. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.