Westport Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Westport Asset Management purchased 2,500 Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares valued at approximately $1.24 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of VRTX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $563.50; recent targets range as high as $616.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above expectations, while earnings per share of $4.73 narrowly missed estimates. The stock opened at $552.06, near its 12-month high.

Westport Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,500 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,725,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $830,842,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $784,391,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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's 50-day moving average price is $488.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.85. The stock has a market cap of $140.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30. 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 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 return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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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