Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 11,063 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7%, now owning approximately 655,050 shares worth about $291.6 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• In the second quarter alone, several other hedge funds also acquired stakes in Vertex, contributing to a total of 90.96% institutional ownership in the company.
• Analysts' ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals are generally optimistic, with one Strong Buy and 16 Buy ratings, while average price targets range around $494.38.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 655,050 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,063 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $291,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $2,933,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $721,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $10,059,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 58,077 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,856,000 after buying an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $472,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Leerink Partners upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $494.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $421.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $108.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $398.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during 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%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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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