William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 39,139 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management dramatically increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake in the fourth quarter, buying 39,139 additional shares and lifting its position to 39,735 shares valued at about $18.0 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $4.47 versus estimates of $4.24, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion, up 8.3% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat on VRTX, with analysts assigning an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $555.17, even as some insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6,566.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,735 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,139 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $434.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $440.68 and a 200-day moving average of $451.11. The company has a market cap of $110.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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, Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% 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. Insiders sold a total of 21,189 shares of company stock worth $9,923,036 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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