Madison Asset Management LLC Takes $14.55 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 29,302 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,555,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,440,149,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $26,725,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $830,842,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $784,391,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.5%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $552.06 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $488.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $464.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $553.69. The company has a market capitalization of $140.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

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.