Knuff & Co LLC Purchases New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,097,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.8% of Knuff & Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,616,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $255,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $471,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $13,823,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,515,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $552.06 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $488.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $374.17 and a 52-week high of $553.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value 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 trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s 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 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 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 sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.