Channel Wealth LLC Has $6.18 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Channel Wealth LLC significantly increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 578.9% in the second quarter, now holding 13,877 shares valued at around $6.18 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Price T Rowe Associates Inc., also made substantial investments in Vertex, highlighting strong interest among hedge funds as they own 90.96% of the stock.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has seen various price target adjustments from analysts, with the average target currently at $496.05, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Channel Wealth LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 578.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,877 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,833 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.7% of Channel Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Channel Wealth LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 22.6% during the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 596 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 36,310 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,165,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,839 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balefire LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $553.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $496.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $383.12. 3,393,840 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,374. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $414.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $450.38. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($12.83) EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.