Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Reduced by Bridger Management LLC

Bridger Management LLC lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,778 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 22,272 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 4.9% of Bridger Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bridger Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.2% in the 2nd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,373,000 after acquiring an additional 4,632 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after purchasing an additional 482,616 shares during the period. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 3,803 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $439.00 to $438.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.95.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 53,604 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.72, for a total value of $23,624,354.88. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,588,738.72. This represents a 69.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $434.02 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $408.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.27. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.