PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,500 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after purchasing an additional 482,616 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after buying an additional 166,987 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,697,716,000 after buying an additional 65,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,225. This represents a 20.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the 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. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $535.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $460.59 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $444.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.