Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 205,745 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 4,011 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $80,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,030,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,643,054.65. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $126,451.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,763 shares in the company, valued at $22,743,185.05. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $540.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $456.69 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $467.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $435.35. The stock has a market cap of $116.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 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.