Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 29,596 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,591,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% during the third quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several major analysts raised coverage and targets for VRTX, boosting bullish sentiment and shorter-term buying interest. Oppenheimer Raises Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $600.00
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades translated into intraday strength earlier in the week (shares traded notably higher on upgrade headlines), signaling renewed investor appetite. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Trading 9.9% Higher on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: New research coverage from Jefferies adds another channel for institutional visibility and could support longer-term demand. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and media interest has picked up — headlines highlighting a recent ~8% jump are drawing attention from momentum traders. This helps explain recent volume spikes and short-term volatility. This Stock Just Jumped By 8%: Is It Too Late to Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: “Trending stock” write-ups from Zacks/Yahoo summarize catalysts and risks for new readers; useful for context but unlikely to move price by themselves. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyses that list reasons to watch VRTX (growth from cystic fibrosis and extending franchises) and one caution help frame investor decisions but don’t introduce a new catalyst. 2 Reasons to Watch VRTX and 1 to Stay Cautious
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term performance pieces and market-focus coverage provide background on investor returns and index attention; helpful for positioning but not immediate drivers. If You Invested $1000 In Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock 20 Years Ago…
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, the stock has retraced from the immediate highs — recent intraday declines and a prior small earnings EPS miss (Feb quarter EPS slightly below consensus) leave some investors taking profits. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $469.34 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $470.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.36.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $126,451.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,763 shares in the company, valued at $22,743,185.05. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 91,156 shares of company stock valued at $42,845,497 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.