North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management acquired 6,833 Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $3.4 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of Vertex’s stock.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above analyst expectations, though earnings per share of $4.73 narrowly missed estimates.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $563.50, compared with the stock’s reported price of $547.55.

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,394,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $1,509,651,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,725,000. Finally, Solas Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $20,311,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $547.55 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $500.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $468.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $374.17 and a 52-week high of $555.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on VRTX. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $563.50.

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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