Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Acquires Shares of 21,075 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 21,075 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,469,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,975,849,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after buying an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after buying an additional 83,539 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after buying an additional 44,537 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $548.05 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $555.32. The company has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $492.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.88.

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

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.