Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6%, now holding approximately 3,098,869 shares valued at about $1.5 billion.
• Despite Amundi's decrease, hedge funds remain heavily invested in Vertex, with 90.96% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has received varied price target adjustments from analysts, with an average target of $497.10 and the stock currently trading around $401.00.

Amundi lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,098,869 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 182,336 shares during the period. Amundi owned 1.21% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,500,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 489,667 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $237,400,000 after acquiring an additional 280,428 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $407,000. One Wealth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC now owns 782 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 36,496 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $17,694,000 after buying an additional 5,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought 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. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $396.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,171,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,311. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $428.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.39.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $553.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.10.

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.