Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Buys 42,418 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Rockefeller Capital Management increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 42,418 shares and bringing its total holding to 135,232 shares valued at about $61.3 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share on revenue of $2.99 billion, with revenue up 8.3% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Despite some insider selling, Wall Street remains upbeat on Vertex: 22 analysts rate it a Buy and the consensus price target is $555.91, above the stock’s recent price of $451.63.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 45.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,232 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,418 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. owned 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $61,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% 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, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% 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 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $451.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $438.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The company has a market capitalization of $114.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $542.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.91.

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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