Shell Asset Management Co. Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.5% in Q2, owning 17,181 shares worth $7,649,000.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported an EPS of $4.52 for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and marking an 11.3% annual revenue growth.
• Several analysts have adjusted their ratings on Vertex, with one upgrade to "strong-buy" and others lowering price targets, reflecting varying market sentiments.

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 28.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Advisor OS LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the first quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $402.90 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $397.96 and a 200-day moving average of $441.32. The firm has a market cap of $103.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.43. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Truist Financial set a $490.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. One equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.

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