William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New $15.98 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 32,172 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,981,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $1,440,149,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,725,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $830,842,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $784,391,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $548.05 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $374.17 and a twelve month high of $555.32. The firm has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $492.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 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.