Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3%, owning approximately 546,904 shares worth $265.15 million at the end of the 1st quarter.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $4.52 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding expectations and showing revenue growth of 11.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Vertex, with 1 analyst giving a Strong Buy rating, 13 assigning Buy ratings, and 13 others rating it as Hold, while the average price target is set at $497.10.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546,904 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 1,538 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.21% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $265,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aries Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $22,954,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,113,000 after buying an additional 1,994 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,425,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $486,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group set a $553.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $392.05 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $434.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.10. The firm has a market cap of $100.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02 and a beta of 0.44. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.