Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Boosts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 72.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,570 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after acquiring an additional 243,088 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after buying an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,299,569,000 after buying an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after buying an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after buying an additional 144,266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $444.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $437.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92. The stock has a market cap of $112.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex received bullish attention from market commentary highlighting that Wall Street remains interested in the stock despite a bearish “death cross” technical setup, suggesting investors are focusing more on the company’s fundamentals than the chart pattern. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced new CASGEVY data at the European Hematology Association Congress, including the first European presentation of results in children ages 5–11 and additional global regulatory submissions, which could support longer-term growth for the gene-editing therapy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage have been broadly upbeat on Vertex, including pieces describing it as a favored healthcare stock and a stock some investors view as attractive to buy now, reinforcing confidence in the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for Vertex to $19.24 from $19.36, a small revision that may not materially change the long-term outlook but is a minor headwind for sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has also experienced a recent pullback in some sessions, reflecting normal volatility and some profit-taking even as the broader narrative remains constructive. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,133 shares of company stock valued at $4,973,106 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.