1,632 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,632 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,440,149,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $830,842,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in 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 valued at $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $166,317,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $505.75 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $483.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.67. The company has a market cap of $128.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $374.17 and a twelve month high of $546.17.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% 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. Insiders sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.