Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTXFree Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,128 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in 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 buying an additional 763,063 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after acquiring an additional 83,539 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after acquiring an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after acquiring an additional 144,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the 4th 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. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,833 shares of company stock valued at $7,120,702. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6%

VRTX stock opened at $496.73 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92. The company has a market capitalization of $126.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $444.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.05.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Read Our Latest Research Report on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

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