Torray Investment Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,938 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,103 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,237,877,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $277,317,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,615 shares of company stock valued at $21,417,310 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $0.57 on Friday, reaching $468.00. 1,090,355 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,205,450. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.85 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $483.31 and a 200-day moving average of $448.38. The firm has a market cap of $120.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.