Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 76,142 shares valued at about $34.5 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $2.99 billion.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Vertex, with 22 Buy ratings, a consensus Moderate Buy view, and an average price target of $555.91.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in 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 purchasing 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $166,317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $451.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $114.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $438.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $542.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006. 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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