Voya Investment Management LLC Has $400.72 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.4%, acquiring an additional 128,432 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total ownership to 827,138 shares valued at approximately $400.7 million.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a robust quarterly earnings result, posting an EPS of $4.52, surpassing estimates and achieving a net margin of 31.86% with revenue growth of 11.3% year-over-year.
• Investment analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with a price target averaging $496.05, reflecting a generally positive outlook despite recent rating adjustments.

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 827,138 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 128,432 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.32% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $400,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,933,000. Aries Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $293,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,954,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.0% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $496.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $2.84 on Friday, hitting $394.53. 978,279 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,365,373. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $101.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $422.66 and a 200 day moving average of $453.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.