554,085 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 554,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,231,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $547.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $494.60 and a 200-day moving average of $466.46. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $374.17 and a 12 month high of $555.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. 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 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.