1,680 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,680 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 455 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $243,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the second quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 43.4% in the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,253 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright set a $591.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.00.

More Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Profile of CEO Reshma Kewalramani in TIME highlights strong leadership and continued R&D momentum, which can support investor confidence in Vertex’s long-term pipeline and strategy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary noting Vertex’s relative performance vs. the Dow suggests the stock still has investor interest and can attract momentum buyers after pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: General coverage in Nasdaq-100 roundup pieces points to continued attention from index investors and analysts — useful for liquidity and index-fund flows but not an immediate catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent Q4 results (Feb 12) showed revenue growth (~9.5% y/y) but a tiny EPS miss ($5.03 vs. $5.05 consensus). Fundamentals remain strong, but the small miss tempers near-term upside until forward guidance or pipeline news arrives. (Earnings release/public filings)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales by several senior execs on Feb 25 — including large disposals such as EVP Duncan McKechnie (4,910 shares; ~21.9% reduction) and several other EVPs/CAO — collectively amount to roughly $4.6M in disclosed sales. Clustered insider selling can trigger short-term selling pressure and signals profit-taking or personal liquidity needs rather than company weakness, but markets often interpret heavy insider sales as a negative near-term indicator. SEC Filing (example)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $480.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $465.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $431.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. This trade represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 168,937 shares of company stock valued at $77,879,922. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.