Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,023 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $13,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,373.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 361,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,119,000 after buying an additional 336,573 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $149,291,000 after buying an additional 319,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6%

VRTX stock opened at $436.59 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $510.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $460.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $448.54. The firm has a market cap of $111.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,643,054.65. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.