Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $1.43 Billion Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,068,214 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 73,957 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.9% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned approximately 1.19% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,426,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $257,655,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

VRTX stock opened at $450.97 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $346.29 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.