Aberdeen Group plc Has $128.20 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5%, holding approximately 287,967 shares worth about $128.2 million as of the latest quarter.
• Insider buying activity included Director Bruce I. Sachs acquiring 5,000 shares at an average cost of $389.68 each, increasing his total ownership by 12.50% to 45,000 shares.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ share price fluctuated, opening at $407.79, with a recent 1-year low of $362.50 and a high of $519.88, while the company reported impressive earnings of $4.52 per share for the last quarter.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 287,967 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 16,747 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.11% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $128,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,388,985,000 after purchasing an additional 232,873 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,953,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,916,742,000 after purchasing an additional 33,492 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,559,476 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,240,885,000 after purchasing an additional 230,257 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $407.79 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $393.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $439.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $494.38.

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.

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