Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,142 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 9,641 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $34,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $451.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $438.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.13. The stock has a market cap of $114.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current 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.