Welch & Forbes LLC Has $98.09 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 1.3% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $98,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,440,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $149,291,000 after acquiring an additional 319,725 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics is being seen as a major expansion move that could add future growth drivers beyond its core cystic fibrosis business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to highlight Vertex as a strong long-term compounder, with articles pointing to its decade-long stock performance and durable earnings power. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on Vertex as one of the best QQQ stocks emphasized the July 1 FDA expansion for CASGEVY, which strengthened the company’s gene-therapy growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Additional biotech commentary has kept Vertex in focus as one of the sector’s more attractive names, reinforcing investor interest in the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data was reported at zero shares, which does not provide a meaningful trading signal and is unlikely to move the stock on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other biotech articles mentioned Vertex only in passing or as part of broader sector coverage, with limited direct impact on VRTX.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.09.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2%

VRTX traded down $11.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $485.39. 1,430,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,935,645. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $457.12 and its 200 day moving average is $458.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.07 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.