Pitcairn Co. Boosts Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,237,877,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $176,946,000 after acquiring an additional 416,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after acquiring an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.3 %

VRTX traded up $1.46 on Thursday, reaching $492.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 988,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,210,871. The stock has a market cap of $127.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $503.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $472.14 and its 200 day moving average is $436.37.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $440.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.46, for a total value of $1,113,688.80. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,474,779.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,128 shares of company stock valued at $22,839,005 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.