CX Institutional Trims Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

CX Institutional lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,754 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,404 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,425 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. UBS Group set a $553.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $385.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $406.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $446.60. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $98.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The company 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%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.