1,889,366 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Purchased by Solas Capital Management LLC

Solas Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,889,366 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,311,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 10.9% of Solas Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $275,231,000. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $1,031,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

VRTX stock opened at $547.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $494.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.46. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $555.32. The firm has a market cap of $138.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently 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.