Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 134.0% in the first quarter, owning 489,667 shares valued at approximately $237.4 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with one analyst giving a Strong Buy, thirteen a Buy, and thirteen a Hold, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.52, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.24, alongside a revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 134.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 489,667 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 280,428 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.19% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $237,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,388,985,000 after acquiring an additional 232,873 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after buying an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,414,331,000 after buying an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,833,889 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,141,277,000 after buying an additional 317,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after buying an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $396.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,171,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,311. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $428.49 and its 200 day moving average is $456.49. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group set a $553.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.10.

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.