Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases Shares of 6,083 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management acquired 6,083 Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $3.0 million during the second quarter. Other institutional investors also increased their positions, and institutions collectively own 90.96% of VRTX.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above expectations, though earnings of $4.73 per share narrowly missed estimates. The stock opened at $505.75, with a market capitalization of about $128.4 billion.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with analysts assigning a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $563.50. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 10,464 shares worth approximately $5.0 million during the last quarter.

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,083 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,004,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,311,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,246,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $505.75 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $483.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.67. The stock has a market cap of $128.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $546.17.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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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