Blair William & Co. IL Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,108 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,197 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $41,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 29,457 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,686,000 after acquiring an additional 4,470 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 119.6% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 12,910 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,032 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,503 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,697,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 172.5% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 28,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,515,000 after purchasing an additional 18,251 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,290 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $474.16 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.85 and a 52-week high of $510.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $483.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.40. The stock has a market cap of $122.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.53 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VRTX shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.