Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,889,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,392 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $841,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 53,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.72, for a total transaction of $23,624,354.88. Following the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,588,738.72. This trade represents a 69.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $422.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $410.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.75. The stock has a market cap of $107.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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.