National Pension Service Purchases 18,728 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

National Pension Service lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 530,841 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 18,728 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $240,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 target price for the company. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $447.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $439.06 and a 200 day moving average of $451.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.