QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $6.20 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,203 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $535.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $441.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $446.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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.