2,792 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,792 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,387,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $830,842,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,317,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $505.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $483.26 and a 200-day moving average of $463.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’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 value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.