Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, holding about 3.0 million shares valued at roughly $1.36 billion. Institutional ownership remains very high, at about 90.96% of the stock.
• Vertex’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $4.47 versus estimates of $4.24 and revenue of $2.99 billion, up 8.3% year over year. Analysts still expect the company to earn about $17.02 per share this year.
• Sentiment around the stock remains broadly constructive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $555.91, and recent coverage highlighted encouraging CASGEVY data and additional regulatory progress.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,000,778 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 113,661 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 1.18% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,360,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 98,027 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $44,442,000 after buying an additional 18,621 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 8,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 312.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Allianz SE lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz SE now owns 25,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,416,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 353.9% during the fourth quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 49,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,619,000 after buying an additional 38,900 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex received bullish attention from market commentary highlighting that Wall Street remains interested in the stock despite a bearish “death cross” technical setup, suggesting investors are focusing more on the company’s fundamentals than the chart pattern. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced new CASGEVY data at the European Hematology Association Congress, including the first European presentation of results in children ages 5–11 and additional global regulatory submissions, which could support longer-term growth for the gene-editing therapy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage have been broadly upbeat on Vertex, including pieces describing it as a favored healthcare stock and a stock some investors view as attractive to buy now, reinforcing confidence in the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for Vertex to $19.24 from $19.36, a small revision that may not materially change the long-term outlook but is a minor headwind for sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has also experienced a recent pullback in some sessions, reflecting normal volatility and some profit-taking even as the broader narrative remains constructive. Article Title

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $444.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $437.14 and a 200 day moving average of $452.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,133 shares of company stock valued at $4,973,106. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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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