2,064 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Bought by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,064 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,363,000 after buying an additional 11,306 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,779,000 after buying an additional 33,917 shares in the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,568,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G 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 $555.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $496.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.04.

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