Voleon Capital Management LP Sells 7,475 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 56.5% during the first quarter, owning 5,753 shares after selling 7,475 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Vertex, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 15.0% and Lazard Asset Management LLC raising its stake by an impressive 6,487.2%.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a net margin of 31.86% for the last quarter, beating analyst estimates with earnings of $4.52 per share and revenue of $2.94 billion.

Voleon Capital Management LP cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 56.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,753 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 7,475 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 30,111 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6,487.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 526,119 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $211,867,000 after acquiring an additional 518,132 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $496.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $8.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $397.37. 1,329,815 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,405,562. The company has a market cap of $101.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $425.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.73.

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. 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 analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($12.83) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.