Somerville Kurt F Invests $8.17 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Somerville Kurt F purchased 16,441 Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $8.17 million, making VRTX 2.0% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50; several firms recently raised their targets.
• Vertex shares opened at $552.06 after rising 4.5%. The company exceeded quarterly revenue expectations with $3.33 billion, though earnings of $4.73 per share narrowly missed estimates.

Somerville Kurt F bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,441 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $8,167,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 2.0% of Somerville Kurt F's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.5%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $552.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $140.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $488.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $374.17 and a 12 month high of $553.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 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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