PKS Advisory Services LLC Acquires New Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 465 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,933,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $721,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,059,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 53,604 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.72, for a total value of $23,624,354.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,588,738.72. The trade was a 69.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Truist Financial set a $490.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Leerink Partners raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $422.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $410.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.