Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 58,841 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 3.9% in the first quarter, buying 58,841 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,586,427 shares worth about $708.4 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $4.47 topping estimates of $4.24 while revenue of $2.99 billion matched forecasts and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on VRTX, with 21 Buy ratings versus 4 Holds and a consensus target price of $559.61, though a few firms recently trimmed ratings or price targets.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,586,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 58,841 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.62% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $708,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 11,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This 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 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $486.03 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $461.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $458.82. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $533.67. The company has a market cap of $123.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective 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. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.61.

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.

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