Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 55.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,544 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,050 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,097,000 after acquiring an additional 520,949 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $472.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $119.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $454.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.