Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 6,083 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,083 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,004,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,440,149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $505.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $374.17 and a 52 week high of $546.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $483.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.