32,172 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Bought by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 32,172 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,981,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4%

VRTX stock opened at $548.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $555.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a 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 report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average 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.