Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

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 increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,641 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $37,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $380.38. 172,965 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,631,616. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $412.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $449.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($12.83) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $553.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating 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 given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.