LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Takes $2.26 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,063 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,261,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position 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 valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after buying an additional 44,537 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,771,226,000 after buying an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics is being seen as a major expansion move that could add future growth drivers beyond its core cystic fibrosis business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to highlight Vertex as a strong long-term compounder, with articles pointing to its decade-long stock performance and durable earnings power. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on Vertex as one of the best QQQ stocks emphasized the July 1 FDA expansion for CASGEVY, which strengthened the company’s gene-therapy growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Additional biotech commentary has kept Vertex in focus as one of the sector’s more attractive names, reinforcing investor interest in the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data was reported at zero shares, which does not provide a meaningful trading signal and is unlikely to move the stock on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other biotech articles mentioned Vertex only in passing or as part of broader sector coverage, with limited direct impact on VRTX.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.09.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $485.39 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $458.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.