Korea Investment CORP Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 205,745 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 4,011 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $80,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 255.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 192 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $409,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $956,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% during the third quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $2,842,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,225. This trade represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $456.69 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $467.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $435.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current 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.