Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 4th, 2026

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) by 16.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,863 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 12,721 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $39,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.61.

Read Our Latest Research Report on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $470.72 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $533.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $471.34 and its 200-day moving average is $460.44. The company has a market capitalization of $119.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 12.5% year over year to approximately $3.33 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Growth was supported by continued demand for Vertex’s cystic fibrosis medicines, as well as contributions from sickle-cell disease, beta thalassemia and acute-pain treatments. Vertex Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Positive Sentiment: Vertex raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to $13.1 billion-$13.2 billion, above the roughly $13.0 billion analyst consensus. The higher forecast reflects sustained strength in cystic fibrosis drug sales. Vertex raises annual revenue forecast
Positive Sentiment: Profitability remained strong, with a 35.5% net margin and operating cash flow of approximately $1.4 billion. Vertex also highlighted strong growth from CASGEVY, its gene-edited therapy developed with CRISPR Therapeutics, and its expanding non-cystic-fibrosis pipeline.
Neutral Sentiment: Vertex announced an agreement to acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for approximately $10.0 billion in equity value, or about $8.8 billion net of estimated cash. The transaction would add PALSONIFY (paltusotine) and establish rare endocrine diseases as another major business area, but its scale may increase near-term execution and valuation risk. Crinetics acquisition announcement
Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EPS was $4.73, narrowly below the $4.74 consensus; another data provider cited a $4.79 estimate. The modest miss likely drove the negative reaction despite revenue outperforming expectations and EPS increasing from $4.52 a year earlier. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Q2 Earnings Lag Estimates

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 17,452 shares of company stock worth $8,103,997 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

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.