Man Group plc Acquires New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 139,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,161,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $374.17 and a 52-week high of $555.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $496.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $467.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value 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 approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.