Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Buys 4,470 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,457 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,470 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $13,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 119.6% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 12,910 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,032 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,503 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,697,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 172.5% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 28,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,515,000 after buying an additional 18,251 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,290 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 1,896 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.85 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $483.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Argus boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.