Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,708 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after buying an additional 44,537 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,440,149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $515.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $484.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.96. The stock has a market cap of $130.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $546.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) 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 firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.