Legal & General Group Plc Invests $928.89 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,870,015 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $928,893,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.74% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $547.59 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $555.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $494.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $466.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

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.