UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,086,683 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,287 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,533,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $541.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $137.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $374.17 and a 52-week high of $555.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $502.08 and its 200 day moving average is $468.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 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.