Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 123,883 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,094 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $51,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $197,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 386,648 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $161,623,000 after buying an additional 28,747 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.1% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 8,670 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,624,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $460.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of VRTX traded up $3.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $495.26. The company had a trading volume of 774,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $474.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $437.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $503.99. The company has a market capitalization of $127.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,128 shares of company stock worth $22,839,005 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.