E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Invests $5.69 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 11,455 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,690,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,440,149,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,725,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $830,842,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $784,391,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $552.06 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $488.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $464.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $553.69. The company has a market cap of $140.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.