Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Raised by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing holdings to 381,462 shares valued at about $173 million.
• Several Vertex insiders sold shares recently, including CMO Carmen Bozic and EVP Joy Liu; insider sales totaled 11,133 shares worth nearly $5.0 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain upbeat on VRTX after the company beat quarterly EPS expectations, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $555.91.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,462 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 40,414 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.15% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $172,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,133 shares of company stock valued at $4,973,106. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a 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 report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $453.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $437.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $452.82. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.