Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 998,418 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $484,053,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.39% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,388,985,000 after acquiring an additional 232,873 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,454,373,000 after buying an additional 744,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,833,889 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,141,277,000 after buying an additional 317,058 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.10.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1%
NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $8.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $395.92. 1,913,607 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,284,947. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $448.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.96. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.44.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($12.83) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
About Vertex Pharmaceuticals
(
Free Report)
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.
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