Grandfield & Dodd LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,231 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after acquiring an additional 20,053 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,695,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $447.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $439.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $451.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92. The company has a market capitalization of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.