Grange Capital LLC Makes New $1.39 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Grange Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,554 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,392,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.3% of Grange Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $5,030,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $1,286,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,231,000 after buying an additional 6,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.9%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $477.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $461.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.53. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,945,993.02. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 1,751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $806,212.93. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,150,639.78. The trade was a 7.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 99,352 shares of company stock valued at $45,037,314 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.