Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,200 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,299,569,000 after acquiring an additional 83,539 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $528.19 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $546.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.