Knuff & Co LLC Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,097,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.8% of Knuff & Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.5%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $552.06 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $374.17 and a 1-year high of $553.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% 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 90 days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.