Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Position Boosted by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1,214.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 37,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,045 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 0.7% of Caprock Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,103 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,237,877,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $485.91.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,615 shares of company stock worth $21,417,310. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $468.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market cap of $120.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $483.31 and a 200-day moving average of $448.57. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.85 and a 52-week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.