Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 726.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 293,301 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 257,829 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $123,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective on the stock. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $446.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $437.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $451.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92. The company has a market capitalization of $113.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.