Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 92.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,942 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,647 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $257,655,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $431.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $487.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $462.14 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $119.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.99 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.32 and a 200-day moving average of $455.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.