Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,493 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position 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 valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $166,317,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price objective for the company. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.4%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $466.79 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $439.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.56. The stock has a market cap of $118.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.