Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Country Trust Bank

by · The Cerbat Gem

Country Trust Bank raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,532 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $38,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.80.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $438.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $111.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $445.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.49.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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