North Star Asset Management Inc. Invests $3.39 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $547.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $500.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $468.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $555.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% 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 90 days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

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.