Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 537,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,336 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $210,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $1,593,974,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 520,949 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position 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. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,373.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 361,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,119,000 after buying an additional 336,573 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $456.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $467.48 and a 200-day moving average of $435.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The company has a market cap of $116.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,225. This trade represents a 20.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.