1,160,296 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Bought by AWM Investment Company Inc.

AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,160,296 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $12,473,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 1.1% of AWM Investment Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. AWM Investment Company Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $496.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $467.04. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $374.17 and a 52 week high of $555.69. The company has a market cap of $140.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. 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 worth $4,959,397 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source