Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Boosted by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,977 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,964 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $16,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,627,135,000 after purchasing an additional 166,987 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,697,716,000 after buying an additional 65,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $498.42.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

VRTX opened at $454.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $428.46 and a 200-day moving average of $425.62. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.