Korea Investment CORP Has $107.23 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 221,180 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,072 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $107,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $484,053,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6,487.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 526,119 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,867,000 after purchasing an additional 518,132 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $860,650,000 after purchasing an additional 398,460 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $553.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $392.79 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $100.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $444.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($12.83) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.