Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,128 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,833 shares of company stock worth $7,120,702. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $496.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $444.56 and a 200-day moving average of $455.05. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

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.