Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 29,104 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,135,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in 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 worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,345 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $2,763,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $463.15 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.85 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $480.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $1,111,135.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $1,111,135.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.