QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.4%, owning a total of 19,036 shares worth approximately $8.48 million.
• Equities research analysts have set various price targets for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with a consensus average target price of $493.81 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings of $4.52 EPS, exceeding expectations and reflecting an 11.3% revenue growth year-over-year.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $167,000. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 757 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $370,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $490.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $403.30 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $399.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $442.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $103.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83 and a beta of 0.43.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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