Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 550,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 87,646 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.22% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $249,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 13,462 shares of company stock worth $6,095,195 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $445.77 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $437.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $452.16.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

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.