Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Invests $850,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC has acquired 1,754 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, valued at approximately $850,000, as part of their new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Clal Insurance Enterprises and Mascagni Wealth Management, have also increased their stakes in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with institutional investors owning 90.96% of the stock.
• Recent analyst reports have shown mixed ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with target prices ranging from $405.00 to $558.00, highlighting varied outlooks from different institutions.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,754 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $850,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $2,933,000. Aries Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $293,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $22,954,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $496.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $2.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $394.53. 978,279 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,386,885. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $422.66 and a 200-day moving average of $453.56.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.