UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Buys 230,257 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9%, now holding over 2.5 million shares worth approximately $1.24 billion.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Vertex, with JPMorgan raising its target to $517, while Stifel decreased it to $455, reflecting divided opinions on the stock's future performance.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported strong earnings with an EPS of $4.52, surpassing estimates, and a revenue of $2.94 billion for the last quarter, indicating an 11.3% year-on-year growth.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,559,476 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 230,257 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 1.00% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,240,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 30,111 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,126,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6,487.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 526,119 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $211,867,000 after buying an additional 518,132 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 189,260 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,211,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim decreased their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $496.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $8.82 during trading on Thursday, hitting $397.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,329,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,562. The company has a market capitalization of $101.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50-day moving average price is $423.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the business'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 purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.