Wellington Management Group LLP Grows Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,069 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.28% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,613,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the second 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 last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $541.69 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $468.67. The company has a market cap of $137.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $374.17 and a 12 month high of $555.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.