Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 99.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 159,938 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,593,974,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial upgraded Vertex to “strong-buy”, providing near-term analyst momentum and potential buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for VRTX (to $19.48 from $19.31), signaling growing analyst confidence in Vertex’s longer-term earnings trajectory versus current consensus. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Headline coverage notes Vertex recently outperformed the market, reflecting short-term buying interest and positive sentiment among investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces suggest recent volatility may present a buying opportunity for long-term investors, but these are opinion-driven and depend on risk tolerance and time horizon. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Maze Therapeutics reported positive Phase II data for an APOL1-targeted kidney drug — a potential rival to Vertex’s candidate — introducing competitive risk that could affect Vertex’s addressable market and future revenue assumptions. Read More.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $453.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $469.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $441.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $510.77. The company has a market capitalization of $115.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,630,027.22. This trade represents a 49.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.