AGF Management Ltd. Has $3.03 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,735 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,150 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $124,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,124 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 55.5% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 8,544 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,378,000 after buying an additional 3,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the third quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 3,496 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $470.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $456.21 and its 200-day moving average is $427.39. The company has a market cap of $119.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.