Equitable Holdings Inc. Makes New $1.45 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,920 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,451,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,366,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,501,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,713,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,232,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $1,085,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $541.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $502.08 and a 200-day moving average of $468.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.69. The company has a market capitalization of $137.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% 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 have sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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