Ethic Inc. Has $5.47 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,971 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,476 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 489,667 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $237,400,000 after buying an additional 280,428 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 456.9% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 431,804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $209,347,000 after buying an additional 354,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,744 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,451,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $453.74 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $437.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.17. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $115.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.05.

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.