Capital Research Global Investors Acquires 763,063 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.4% of Capital Research Global Investors’ portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $7,850,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 worth $213,435,000 after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $4,695,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $446.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $437.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 stock was 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

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.