Korea Investment CORP Invests $105.96 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 213,312 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,958,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,975,849,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after buying an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after buying an additional 44,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial upped 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. 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.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $548.05 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $555.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $492.65 and a 200 day moving average of $465.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.