Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 96.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,372 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,372 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $14,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,435,000 after acquiring an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,695,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $434.52 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $441.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $110.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the company’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 value of $459,600.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,643,054.65. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 1,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $897,802.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,026,469.50. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.