Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 52,287 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 480,310 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 52,287 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $213,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Humankind Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. George Kaiser Family Foundation lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% in the second quarter. George Kaiser Family Foundation now owns 869 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 100.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,866,000 after buying an additional 5,481 shares in the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 198.3% in the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,634 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $452.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $426.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.75.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $498.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.