J. Goldman & Co LP Acquires New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,311 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,115,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,440,149,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $26,725,000. Solas Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $20,311,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $928,893,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $496.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $467.04. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $555.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

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.