APG Asset Management US Inc. Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

APG Asset Management US Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,048 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $431.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $461.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $119.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $481.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $341.85 and a 12-month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for 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 was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.