Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by Madison Asset Management LLC

Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,201 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after buying an additional 482,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 145,417 shares of company stock worth $65,190,487. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $461.24 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $459.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.29.

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.