Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $98.50 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 48.4% in the first quarter, but still held 220,589 shares worth about $98.5 million.
• Vertex remains heavily owned by institutions, with 90.96% of shares held by institutional investors. Several other funds also made small new positions or increased holdings in the company.
• Analysts are generally constructive on VRTX, with multiple firms maintaining or raising targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus. Vertex also beat recent earnings expectations, reporting $4.47 EPS on $2.99 billion in revenue.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 48.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,589 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 207,014 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 1.4% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $98,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics is being seen as a major expansion move that could add future growth drivers beyond its core cystic fibrosis business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to highlight Vertex as a strong long-term compounder, with articles pointing to its decade-long stock performance and durable earnings power. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on Vertex as one of the best QQQ stocks emphasized the July 1 FDA expansion for CASGEVY, which strengthened the company’s gene-therapy growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Additional biotech commentary has kept Vertex in focus as one of the sector’s more attractive names, reinforcing investor interest in the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data was reported at zero shares, which does not provide a meaningful trading signal and is unlikely to move the stock on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other biotech articles mentioned Vertex only in passing or as part of broader sector coverage, with limited direct impact on VRTX.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $542.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $557.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of VRTX traded down $11.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $485.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,430,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,935,645. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $533.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $457.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $458.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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