Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 66,341 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 299.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,499 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,341 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $39,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

More Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.09.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ: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 has a market cap of $123.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $457.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $458.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.