Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock: Sterling Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,535 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,113 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,896,910,000 after purchasing an additional 141,320 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,613,209,000 after purchasing an additional 35,069 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,086,683 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,533,248,000 after purchasing an additional 29,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,509,651,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $523.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $523.52 and its 200-day moving average is $483.25. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $403.16 and a 1-year high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.74 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Povetacicept delivered positive Phase 3 results. Vertex said the RAINIER trial met all key endpoints in IgA nephropathy, an immune-mediated kidney disease. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Society of Nephrology meeting, supporting the drug’s potential to become an important commercial product. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Posts Positive Phase 3 Results for Povetacicept
• Positive Sentiment: Vertex plans to seek FDA accelerated approval for povetacicept in IgA nephropathy. Regulatory progress could bring a new revenue source closer and reduce the company’s reliance on its cystic fibrosis franchise. Phase 3 RAINIER Results for Povetacicept
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline diversification is becoming more credible. About 96% of Vertex’s product sales currently come from cystic fibrosis treatments, but povetacicept and inaxaplin could expand the company into kidney disease. Inaxaplin is viewed as a potential blockbuster, adding longer-term growth optionality. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Pipeline Diversification
• Neutral Sentiment: Vertex highlighted its broader kidney-disease research program at ASN Kidney Week 2026, but the presentations do not appear to add a major new financial forecast beyond the povetacicept results. Vertex ASN Kidney Week 2026 Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly reduced its EPS forecasts. The firm cut its FY2026 estimate to $16.65 from $16.68 and its FY2027 estimate to $18.97 from $19.09. While the reductions are small, they may weigh on sentiment and highlight near-term earnings uncertainty. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Analyst Estimates

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.