Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 66.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,115 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,199 shares during the period. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,440,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $149,291,000 after purchasing an additional 319,725 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of VRTX opened at $482.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $464.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.