iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 1,843 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,685 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,417,000. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,695,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.0%

VRTX opened at $436.95 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $445.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $450.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,802 shares of company stock worth $37,402,568. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.