Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,981,905 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,160 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,700,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,435,000 after acquiring an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,695,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $437.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $439.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $451.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current 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.