Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $484,053,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after buying an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $860,650,000 after buying an additional 398,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 456.9% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 431,804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $209,347,000 after buying an additional 354,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $402.90 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $397.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $441.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $103.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.43.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.