Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Holdings Lifted by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 456.9%, owning 431,804 shares valued at approximately $209.3 million after acquiring an additional 354,269 shares.
• Insider activity was noted as Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares at an average price of $389.68, increasing his holdings by 12.5% to a total of 45,000 shares.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.52, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing an 11.3% year-over-year growth in revenue.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 456.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 431,804 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 354,269 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 0.8% of Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.17% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $209,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded down $0.81 during mid-day 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $428.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $456.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.