State Street Corp Acquires 83,539 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

State Street Corp grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 83,539 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,299,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex received bullish attention from market commentary highlighting that Wall Street remains interested in the stock despite a bearish “death cross” technical setup, suggesting investors are focusing more on the company’s fundamentals than the chart pattern. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced new CASGEVY data at the European Hematology Association Congress, including the first European presentation of results in children ages 5–11 and additional global regulatory submissions, which could support longer-term growth for the gene-editing therapy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage have been broadly upbeat on Vertex, including pieces describing it as a favored healthcare stock and a stock some investors view as attractive to buy now, reinforcing confidence in the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for Vertex to $19.24 from $19.36, a small revision that may not materially change the long-term outlook but is a minor headwind for sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has also experienced a recent pullback in some sessions, reflecting normal volatility and some profit-taking even as the broader narrative remains constructive. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 11,133 shares of company stock worth $4,973,106 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $444.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $437.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $452.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.