Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 2,452 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the second quarter, holding 82,641 shares valued at $37,984,000.
• Multiple hedge funds made significant changes to their holdings, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 60,572.3% and holding 2,425,070 shares valued at $1.17 billion.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with target prices ranging from $405 to $553, while the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $496.05.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,641 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 2,452 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $37,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $484,053,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $2,454,373,000 after buying an additional 744,680 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $860,650,000 after acquiring an additional 398,460 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $383.27. 832,080 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,635,981. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $414.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $449.84.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $553.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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 research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $496.05.

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.