Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.9%, selling 8,421 shares to end the quarter with 8,469 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million.
• Analysts have recently downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with Wolfe Research and Leerink Partners changing their ratings to "peer perform" and "hold", respectively; yet, the stock maintains an average price target of $497.10.
• Insider trading activity saw Director Bruce I. Sachs purchase 5,000 shares at an average price of $389.68, increasing his ownership by 12.50% to a total of 45,000 shares.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 49.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,469 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 8,421 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,073 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $484,053,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,454,373,000 after acquiring an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought 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 owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.60 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $394.36. 1,669,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,649,592. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $442.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.11. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($12.83) earnings per share. The firm'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, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.