Community Bank N.A. Purchases 727 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Community Bank N.A. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter, owning a total of 1,964 shares valued at approximately $874,000 at the end of the reporting period.
• Insider transactions showed Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares at an average price of $389.68, increasing his total ownership to 45,000 shares valued at about $17.54 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with one strong buy, sixteen buy, and twelve hold ratings, and a recent average price target of $494.38 based on MarketBeat data.

Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,964 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 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 the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased 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 owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $439.00 to $438.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $494.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $412.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $105.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47 and a beta of 0.43. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $393.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.96.

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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.

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