1,259,997 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,259,997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,804,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $12,473,000. J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,115,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $335,813,000. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $324,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $560,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $555.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $496.59 and its 200 day moving average is $467.04. The stock has a market cap of $140.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.