Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 2,465 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $965,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after acquiring an additional 166,987 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after acquiring an additional 424,808 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,697,716,000 after acquiring an additional 65,047 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $1,593,974,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright set a $591.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.00.

Key Stories Impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of VRTX opened at $496.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $466.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $431.98. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68. The stock has a market cap of $126.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Insider Activity

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 value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 168,937 shares of company stock worth $77,879,922. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.