AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Cuts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 59.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,256 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 76,687 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $439.00 to $438.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $420.17 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $399.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $433.85.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($12.83) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.