Davidson Investment Advisors Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in Q2, now holding 63,689 shares valued at approximately $28.35 million.
• Institutional ownership is strong, with 90.96% of Vertex's stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts' ratings are generally positive, with one Strong Buy, sixteen Buy, and twelve Hold ratings, and an average target price of $494.38.

Davidson Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,689 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.3% of Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $28,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. American National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Leerink Partners raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $458.00 to $456.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $553.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $490.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $494.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of VRTX opened at $412.22 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $393.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.96. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $105.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47 and a beta of 0.43.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

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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