Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Has $565,000 Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 65.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,270 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,388,985,000 after buying an additional 232,873 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after buying an additional 1,089,063 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,953,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,916,742,000 after buying an additional 33,492 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,559,476 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,240,885,000 after purchasing an additional 230,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $425.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $109.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $401.71 and a 200-day moving average of $431.57. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group set a $553.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $492.10.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.