Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,900 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,833 shares of company stock worth $7,120,702. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped 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. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $528.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $134.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $529.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $449.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.46.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal 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.