Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Natural Investments LLC

Natural Investments LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 39.1% during the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 762 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $486,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $407.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $393.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $439.18. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

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

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.