1,115 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by Second Line Capital LLC

Second Line Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,115 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 900.4% in the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 12,305 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,819,000 after acquiring an additional 11,075 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 55,350 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $15,759,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 274,136 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $108,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $301,537.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,542,573.40. This represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $462.49 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $470.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $439.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $516.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.36.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.