Shelter Mutual Insurance Co Invests $13.71 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Shelter Mutual Insurance Co. bought 27,600 Vertex shares worth approximately $13.71 million, making VRTX its 10th-largest holding and about 2.9% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of the company.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above analyst estimates, though earnings of $4.73 per share narrowly missed expectations. The stock opened at $548.05, near its 52-week high of $555.32.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $563.50. Several firms raised their targets, while insiders sold shares through pre-arranged trading plans.

Shelter Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $13,710,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 2.9% of Shelter Mutual Insurance Co's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $548.05 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $492.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.92. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $374.17 and a 1-year high of $555.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 over the last quarter. 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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