Aviva PLC Acquires 30,650 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,490 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,650 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $62,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $731,283,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $435,899,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of 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 worth $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $509.17.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $476.95. The company had a trading volume of 339,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,892. The company has a market capitalization of $122.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -217.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $484.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $464.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.