Leuthold Group LLC Acquires Shares of 12,843 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,843 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,030,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after acquiring an additional 520,949 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after purchasing an additional 482,616 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 145,417 shares of company stock valued at $65,190,487. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $461.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $117.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $459.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $414.00 to $606.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $522.68.

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.