Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Position Trimmed by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 35.5% in Q1, selling 295,605 shares and leaving it with 537,248 shares worth about $239.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish, with 22 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings; the consensus view is a “Moderate Buy” and the average price target is $555.91.
• Vertex reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.47 versus the $4.24 estimate and revenue of $2.99 billion, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 35.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 537,248 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 295,605 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.21% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $239,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,311,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

More Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex received an upgrade-driven boost from commentary highlighting povetacicept as a potential new growth driver, reinforcing optimism that the company’s pipeline can support earnings beyond its cystic fibrosis franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New pediatric data for CASGEVY showed strong clinical benefits and a consistent safety profile in children, supporting Vertex’s regulatory and commercial outlook for its CRISPR-based therapy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with multiple firms reiterating bullish views and price targets above the current share price, suggesting continued institutional confidence in Vertex’s longer-term growth story. Article Title

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $475.20 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The company has a market cap of $120.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.30. The business's 50 day moving average is $440.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.72.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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