Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 217,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,605 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 1.2% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $96,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,414,331,000 after buying an additional 1,226,527 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after buying an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $484,053,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $860,650,000 after buying an additional 398,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 456.9% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 431,804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $209,347,000 after buying an additional 354,269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $425.57 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $109.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $401.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $431.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($12.83) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $439.00 to $438.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $492.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.