Hemenway Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) by 78.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,531 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the second quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the second quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 8,515 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,399,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the first quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc now owns 1,915 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the second quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 7,935 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.8% in the first quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 174 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 11,689 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total value of $3,565,846.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,598 shares in the company, valued at $30,383,365.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 11,689 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $3,565,846.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,383,365.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 17,865 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.65, for a total transaction of $5,156,732.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,413,626.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 196,831 shares of company stock worth $56,532,979. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 38.26% and a return on equity of 31.22%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 12.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $291.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 5th. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $365.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $256.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.65.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Get Rating)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis. The company markets SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI, ORKAMBI, and KALYDECO to treat patients with cystic fibrosis who have specific mutations in their cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene; and TRIKAFTA for the treatment of patients with CF 6 years of age or older who have at least one F508del mutation.

Featured Stories

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)
• Build A Better Tech Portfolio With Jabil Inc.
• Is There Value In These Growth Stocks?
• Autodesk Is A Mature Company Still Acting Like A Growth Stock
• MarketBeat Podcast, 3 Stocks to Watch Newmont Mining, Walmart, AMC
• MO Money: Why Altria Group Stock is Rallying

Receive News & Ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.