Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,915 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 871 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after buying an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,374,948,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $492.69 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $476.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $126.52 billion, a PE ratio of -223.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.