Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 26,543 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 66.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,501 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 26,543 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 171.0% in the 1st quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,477 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $144,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 546,904 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $265,150,000 after buying an additional 1,538 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $462.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $117.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.64 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $435.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.54. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.