Cullinan Associates Inc. Has $23.52 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cullinan Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,276 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 1.3% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $23,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,103 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,237,877,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $176,946,000 after purchasing an additional 416,545 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,410,000 after buying an additional 384,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $137,975,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,366 shares of company stock valued at $13,058,787 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $4.79 on Tuesday, hitting $476.04. 239,774 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,233,458. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $335.82 and a 1-year high of $486.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $444.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.22 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.