Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Position Boosted by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,900 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $528.04 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $529.14. The company has a market cap of $134.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $449.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $456.46.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,833 shares of company stock worth $7,120,702. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.