Summit Global Investments Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Summit Global Investments increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,974 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,468,000 after purchasing an additional 4,272 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the third quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,965 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,686,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 151,056 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $59,160,000 after buying an additional 6,468 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Exane Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $475.68 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $452.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $427.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.