Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 243,088 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.45% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $9,484,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $478.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $537.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at $5,945,993.02. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 1,751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $806,212.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,150,639.78. This represents a 7.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 99,352 shares of company stock worth $45,037,314. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $491.47 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $460.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.