Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments boosted its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 214,412 more shares and bringing its total position to 2,860,176 shares worth about $1.30 billion.
• Vertex reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.47 per share topping estimates of $4.24 and revenue rising 8.3% year over year to $2.99 billion.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on VRTX, with 22 Buy ratings and an average price target of $555.91, while some insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,860,176 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 214,412 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.0% of Clearbridge Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.13% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,296,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%

VRTX stock opened at $446.83 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $437.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $451.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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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