Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 45,003 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 638,950 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 45,003 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.25% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $285,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $477.36 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $533.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $465.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $459.80. The company has a market capitalization of $121.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.