Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 214,412 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,860,176 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 214,412 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.0% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,296,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth 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. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $446.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $113.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $451.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share 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.