Caxton Associates LLP Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $16,087,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in 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 buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during 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 last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position 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 worth $149,291,000 after buying an additional 319,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $473.09 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $533.67. The stock's 50 day moving average is $464.96 and its 200 day moving average is $459.67. The company has a market capitalization of $120.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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