Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,837 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,316 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $42,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,317,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 15,195 shares of company stock valued at $6,801,006. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $458.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $438.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $453.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.