Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Boosted by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 319,467 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.12% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $125,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $29,373,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,300 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.8% during the third quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,647 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 740 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Leerink Partnrs raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.80.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $442.08 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $447.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $426.90. The company has a market cap of $112.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current 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.