Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Has $6.11 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,355 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after acquiring an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after acquiring an additional 44,537 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,440,149,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s planned $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals would add endocrine assets and broaden its growth pipeline beyond cystic fibrosis. The deal also highlights Vertex’s willingness to use its strong cash-generation profile to pursue new growth opportunities. Vertex Just Paid $10 Billion for Crinetics
• Positive Sentiment: Vertex and AbCellera announced a collaboration to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize multispecific T-cell engagers for autoimmune diseases and other conditions. Vertex will fund the research and retain commercialization rights, potentially expanding its long-term pipeline into new therapeutic areas. AbCellera, Vertex partner on next-gen T-cell engagers
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its Vertex EPS forecast to $16.95 for fiscal 2026 and $19.26 for fiscal 2027. The 2027 estimate is above the broader consensus of $17.01 for the current year, indicating improving analyst expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. However, valuation opinions remain divided: discounted-cash-flow analysis suggests upside, while market-based multiples appear closer to fair value after the shares’ strong longer-term performance. Vertex Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also focused on Vertex’s second-quarter 2026 results. Pre-earnings coverage is emphasizing operating metrics and pipeline progress, but no new quarterly results were reported in these articles, leaving near-term direction dependent on the upcoming release.
• Negative Sentiment: The Crinetics acquisition represents a substantial financial commitment and could pressure Vertex’s valuation if integration is difficult, development costs rise or the acquired pipeline fails to produce meaningful revenue. This appears to be the principal source of caution behind the recent weakness.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. 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 raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, 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. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $481.70 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $469.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.21. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $533.67. The company has a market cap of $122.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 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 directly owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,770 shares of company stock worth $8,238,744. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.