OP Asset Management Ltd Buys New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 26,189 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,694,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $956,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,247,566 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $880,237,000 after buying an additional 92,402 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 447,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $202,612,000 after buying an additional 86,084 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $475.20 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $440.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.72. The company has a market capitalization of $120.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex received an upgrade-driven boost from commentary highlighting povetacicept as a potential new growth driver, reinforcing optimism that the company’s pipeline can support earnings beyond its cystic fibrosis franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New pediatric data for CASGEVY showed strong clinical benefits and a consistent safety profile in children, supporting Vertex’s regulatory and commercial outlook for its CRISPR-based therapy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with multiple firms reiterating bullish views and price targets above the current share price, suggesting continued institutional confidence in Vertex’s longer-term growth story. Article Title

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.