Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $17.96 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,326 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its position 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $257,655,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $464.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $482.66 and a 200-day moving average of $452.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.85 and a 52 week high of $510.64. The company has a market capitalization of $119.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,198,300.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $431.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

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.