Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 40.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,892 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,703 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 423 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 326 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $468.45. 791,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,840. The company has a market cap of $120.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $340.83 and a 12-month high of $510.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $440.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.56, for a total transaction of $1,015,876.80. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 34,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,442,664.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,703 shares of company stock worth $26,615,855 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.