UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Invests $4.50 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 9,049 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,495,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,975,849,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,299,569,000 after acquiring an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $515.55 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $374.17 and a 1-year high of $546.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $484.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. 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 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial increased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

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.