Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 454 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,388,985,000 after acquiring an additional 232,873 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,953,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,916,742,000 after purchasing an additional 33,492 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,559,476 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,240,885,000 after purchasing an additional 230,257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Leerink Partnrs raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

VRTX stock opened at $419.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $396.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $435.71. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.