Allianz SE Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 24,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $9,585,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,495,501,000 after buying an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 704,575 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,374,948,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.17.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $486.49. 390,938 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,277,826. 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 twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $478.85 and a 200 day moving average of $463.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.