Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,355 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,306 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,779,000 after purchasing an additional 33,917 shares during the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the first quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda America Inc acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,911,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Key Stories Impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s planned $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals would add endocrine assets and broaden its growth pipeline beyond cystic fibrosis. The deal also highlights Vertex’s willingness to use its strong cash-generation profile to pursue new growth opportunities. Vertex Just Paid $10 Billion for Crinetics
• Positive Sentiment: Vertex and AbCellera announced a collaboration to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize multispecific T-cell engagers for autoimmune diseases and other conditions. Vertex will fund the research and retain commercialization rights, potentially expanding its long-term pipeline into new therapeutic areas. AbCellera, Vertex partner on next-gen T-cell engagers
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its Vertex EPS forecast to $16.95 for fiscal 2026 and $19.26 for fiscal 2027. The 2027 estimate is above the broader consensus of $17.01 for the current year, indicating improving analyst expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. However, valuation opinions remain divided: discounted-cash-flow analysis suggests upside, while market-based multiples appear closer to fair value after the shares’ strong longer-term performance. Vertex Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also focused on Vertex’s second-quarter 2026 results. Pre-earnings coverage is emphasizing operating metrics and pipeline progress, but no new quarterly results were reported in these articles, leaving near-term direction dependent on the upcoming release.
• Negative Sentiment: The Crinetics acquisition represents a substantial financial commitment and could pressure Vertex’s valuation if integration is difficult, development costs rise or the acquired pipeline fails to produce meaningful revenue. This appears to be the principal source of caution behind the recent weakness.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $481.70 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $469.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $460.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,770 shares of company stock valued at $8,238,744. 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.