Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Purchases 183,391 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. significantly increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 125.6%, acquiring an additional 183,391 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total to 329,391 shares valued at approximately $146.65 million.
• Recent price target adjustments by analysts indicate a generally cautious outlook for Vertex, with firms like Scotiabank and Stifel Nicolaus lowering their targets, while the average consensus price target stands at $493.81.
• Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of Vertex stock for about $1.95 million, increasing his ownership by 12.5%, as insider ownership remains relatively low at 0.20%.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 125.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 329,391 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 183,391 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.13% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $146,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor OS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,786 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. 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. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $493.81.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $404.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89 and a beta of 0.43. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $401.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, 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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