Aureus Asset Management LLC Has $3.75 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Aureus Asset Management increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 36.7% in the first quarter, ending with 8,395 shares valued at about $3.75 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 90.96% of Vertex shares held by institutions and hedge funds; several large investors also recently boosted or initiated positions.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share on revenue of $2.99 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $559.61.

Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 36.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $149,291,000 after acquiring an additional 319,725 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% 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 worth $8,707,966 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $472.57 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $533.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $464.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.52.

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

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.

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