1,215 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Bought by ABC Arbitrage SA

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,215 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the 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 directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

VRTX stock opened at $480.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $458.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $458.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $533.67. The company has a market cap of $121.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.61.

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.