Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Holdings Lessened by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,856 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,727 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,983,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $5,030,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $1,286,000. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 220,346 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.5%

VRTX stock opened at $496.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $126.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $466.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $432.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Clinical safety expansion — Vertex announced a new study to evaluate VX‑548 (an investigational pain drug) in breastfeeding women, broadening the drug’s safety profile and de‑risking development pathways if results are supportive. Vertex Expands VX‑548 Safety Profile With New Breastfeeding Study
• Positive Sentiment: Leadership/PR tailwind — TIME profiled CEO Reshma Kewalramani, reinforcing investor confidence in management’s execution and Vertex’s strategy to expand beyond cystic fibrosis. Physician‑Scientist Reshma Kewalramani Runs One of Biotech’s Biggest Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — recent upgrades and raised price targets (several firms highlighted in coverage) help underpin the stock and attract buy‑side interest. MarketBeat VRTX analyst coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly fundamentals — Q4 revenue rose ~9.5% y/y and margins remain strong, though EPS missed by $0.02 (reported $5.03 vs. $5.05 consensus); this is a small miss that keeps the longer‑term thesis intact but mutes near‑term upside. Vertex recent earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum/coverage — pieces asking whether VRTX is outperforming major indices may draw momentum flows but do not represent new fundamental catalysts. Is Vertex Stock Outperforming the Dow?
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider selling — multiple senior executives disclosed sales between Feb. 19–25, including a large sale by EVP Amit Sachdev (~58,613 shares, ~ $27.5M) and several other EVPs reducing positions. Such concentrated insider sales can create near‑term negative sentiment even if driven by diversification or tax planning. Representative SEC filing: SEC Form 4 – Amit Sachdev
• Negative Sentiment: Additional officer sale — CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 223 shares (minor relative to the EVP sales) but is part of the broader disclosure set that traders are reacting to. Vertex insider sales roundup

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Oppenheimer upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.00.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,643,054.65. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 168,937 shares of company stock worth $77,879,922. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.