Somerville Kurt F Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Somerville Kurt F acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,441 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,167,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.0% of Somerville Kurt F’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Puzo Michael J purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,901,000. CM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $14,555,000. Csenge Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $2,060,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $552.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $140.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $553.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $488.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.85.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results 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 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%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 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 a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

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.