Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 9,641 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,641 shares and bringing its total holding to 76,142 shares worth about $34.5 million.
• Analysts remain bullish on Vertex, with several firms raising price targets; the stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $555.17.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share on revenue of $2.99 billion, while the company’s shares recently traded around $453.06, below the 52-week high of $507.92.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,142 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,641 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $34,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $453.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.99 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. The company's 50-day moving average is $446.86 and its 200-day moving average is $450.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents 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 sold 74,314 shares of company stock worth $35,007,953 over the last ninety days. 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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