Driehaus Capital Management LLC Purchases 235 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after acquiring an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after acquiring an additional 244,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $465.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.85 and a one year high of $510.64. The stock has a market cap of $120.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.54.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.36.

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.