Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 34,614 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.6%, acquiring an additional 34,614 shares to total 242,754 shares worth approximately $108 million.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported an EPS of $4.52 for Q2, surpassing analyst expectations and achieving 11.3% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $2.94 billion.
• Analysts have lowered price targets for Vertex, with Guggenheim reducing their target from $558.00 to $546.00, but the stock retains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 242,754 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,614 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $108,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 679 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $23,871,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 50,317 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,781 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% in the second quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,345,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,003 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,563,000 after buying an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 purchased at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $3.99 on Friday, hitting $383.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,393,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,490,884. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $414.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $449.84. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $496.05.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.