BNP Paribas Buys 1,798 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

BNP Paribas boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,139 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $438.40 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $438.67 and a 200-day moving average of $451.92. The stock has a market cap of $111.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.