Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd Buys Shares of 2,019 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,019 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,003,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $548.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $555.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $492.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

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.