Truist Financial Corp Sells 13,881 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp sold 13,881 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, reducing its position by 6.2%, now owning approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $93.5 million.
• Insider Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of Vertex at a price of $389.68 per share, increasing his holdings by 12.5% to a total of 45,000 shares.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with Cantor Fitzgerald lowering it to $485, while Truist Financial set a target of $490 with a "buy" rating.

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,089 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 13,881 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $93,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 12,875 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,732,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $721,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 71,890 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 484 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 291.4% during the 2nd quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $404.21 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.88. The company's 50-day moving average is $401.71 and its 200 day moving average is $444.45. The company has a market capitalization of $103.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89 and a beta of 0.43.

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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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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