Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 181.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,931 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This 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 quarter, insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $490.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $467.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.99. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $533.67. The stock has a market cap of $124.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.