Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Caprock Group LLC

Key Points

• Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Vertex by 15.1% to 29,023 shares (about $13.16M), and institutional investors now own 90.96% of the company.
• Vertex reported Q4 EPS of $5.03 (missed by $0.02) with revenue of $3.19B (up 9.5% YoY and slightly above expectations); the stock trades near $436.59 with a market cap of about $111B and a P/E of ~28.5.
• Company insiders sold roughly 80,431 shares (~$37.9M) in the past three months (insiders own 0.20%), yet analysts remain broadly positive with an average price target of $555 and mostly "Buy" ratings.

Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,023 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $13,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $578,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 92,901 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $42,118,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 305.6% during the fourth quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 2,243 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 27,610 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,517,000 after buying an additional 15,286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $436.59 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $460.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $448.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,643,054.65. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.00.

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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