Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,103 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,103 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $505.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $546.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $483.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target 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. 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 note on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 company’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 in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This trade 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 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.