Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Acquires New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 21,075 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,469,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 4,470 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 793 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the first quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $548.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $492.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.88. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.