Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Holdings Raised by First Horizon Corp

First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,535 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,380 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,440,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $149,291,000 after acquiring an additional 319,725 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. 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 Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics could accelerate growth beyond cystic fibrosis by adding a marketed endocrine drug and a late-stage pipeline candidate. Vertex (VRTX) Is Buying Crinetics For $10 Billion And Entering Endocrinology
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s expanded approval for CASGEVY in children as young as 2 years old strengthens Vertex’s gene-therapy franchise and could widen the product’s commercial reach. Vertex (VRTX) is One of the Best QQQ Stocks to Invest in
• Neutral Sentiment: Some reports note that investors are balancing the growth potential of the Crinetics deal against integration risk and the size of the cash outlay. Vertex’s Crinetics Deal Balances Growth with Integration Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent executive stock sales were disclosed under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, which may create headline noise but do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. Ourania Tatsis Sells 1,500 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly supportive, with most firms maintaining Buy ratings and high price targets, though one recent downgrade to Hold adds a bit of caution. Citi Remains a Buy on Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of VRTX opened at $496.50 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $455.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.14. The stock has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.09.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.