Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Raised by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8%, making it the firm's second largest position, with holdings valued at approximately $75.8 million.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported $4.52 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $2.94 billion, showing a year-over-year growth of 11.3%.
• Institutional investors own 90.96% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals' stock, indicating strong confidence from major financial players in the company's future prospects.

Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,325 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 7.1% of Provident Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Provident Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $75,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the first quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,388,985,000 after purchasing an additional 232,873 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $860,650,000 after purchasing an additional 398,460 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 29.7% in the first quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 817 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% in the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 3,606 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $2.93 on Friday, reaching $372.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,303. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $452.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.93. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $372.35 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $95.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($12.83) EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VRTX. UBS Group set a $553.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.