Generate Investment Management Ltd Takes $10.08 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 25,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,078,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after purchasing an additional 482,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $453.74 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $437.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.17. The stock has a market cap of $115.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.