ProShare Advisors LLC Has $138.74 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 344,526 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,116 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $138,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 24,076 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,695,000 after acquiring an additional 4,381 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $801,000. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 88,726 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,730,000 after acquiring an additional 37,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 58,242 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $421.16 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $485.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $108.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -191.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,978,465 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

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.