Aureus Asset Management LLC Purchases 2,253 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Aureus Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 36.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $149,291,000 after purchasing an additional 319,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $472.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $464.51 and a 200-day moving average of $459.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67.

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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.