Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 10,515 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Shell Asset Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,666 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 10,515 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Signature Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 4,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,123 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $537.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $886,327.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,585,692.17. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 99,352 shares of company stock worth $45,037,314 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and product momentum — Q4 revenue of ~$3.19B (≈+9.5% YoY) came in at or slightly above many forecasts, driven by cystic fibrosis product sales and new launches (Alyftrek, Casgevy, Journavx), supporting near-term cash flow expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and bullish targets — Oppenheimer upgraded VRTX to “outperform” with a $540 target; several other firms recently raised targets or reiterated buys, which can drive momentum and institutional demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline diversification highlighted — Company commentary emphasized growth beyond CF (autoimmune partnerships/expansion), which reduces concentration risk and supports longer-term upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: 2026 revenue guidance roughly in-line — Management set FY2026 revenue guidance around $13.0–13.1B, largely matching Street expectations; this limits downside from guidance surprises but is not a bullish catalyst on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Full materials available for modeling — The slide deck and earnings call transcript are posted; analysts will parse product trends and margins to update models. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed metric comparisons — EPS was ~$5.03 vs. consensus near $5.05–$5.07; some outlets flagged revenue slightly below certain Street models, triggering near-term profit-taking. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives disclosed open-market sales this week (EVPs, CAO). While common for tax/diversification, the cluster of sales can amplify short-term negative sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: After-hours weakness — The EPS miss plus insider sales pressured shares in after-hours trading, reflecting short-term profit-taking before today’s rebound. Article Title

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $491.47 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $459.98 and its 200-day moving average is $427.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $124.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 32.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.