Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $172.96 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 381,462 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,414 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $172,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 11,133 shares of company stock valued at $4,973,106 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $453.17 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $437.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $452.82. The stock has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 target price for the company. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

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.