Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,029 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,823 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $87,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 216.3% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,345 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,763,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $464.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $482.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $452.12. The stock has a market cap of $119.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.85 and a one year high of $510.64.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,198,300.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.