Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Holdings Lifted by Atle Fund Management AB

Key Points

• Atle Fund Management AB increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.7%, owning 24,328 shares worth approximately $10.83 million, making it the fund's 7th largest position.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported earnings per share of $4.52 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.28, with revenues up 11.3% year-over-year at $2.94 billion.
• The stock has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion and trading shows a 12-month high of $519.88 and a low of $362.50, with shares currently down 1.0% at $383.12.

Atle Fund Management AB increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,328 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 4.6% of Atle Fund Management AB's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Atle Fund Management AB's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after buying an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,414,331,000 after buying an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $484,053,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,454,373,000 after buying an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $860,650,000 after buying an additional 398,460 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $383.13. 1,469,577 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,639,874. The company has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $414.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $449.84. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($12.83) EPS. The firm'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. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. UBS Group set a $553.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $496.05.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.