Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC significantly reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 93.3%, selling 19,011 shares and maintaining only 1,373 shares, valued at $665,000.
• Despite the reduction by Cyrus J. Lawrence, major institutional investors like Vanguard Group, Price T Rowe Associates, and others have increased their investments in Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $4.52 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing an 11.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 93.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,373 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 19,011 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 2.5% of Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $484,053,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $211,867,000 after purchasing an additional 518,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $4.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $396.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,237,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,441,718. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $431.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $457.80. The company has a market cap of $101.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.