Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 345 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 682 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advisor OS LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $421.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.43. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $398.96 and a 200 day moving average of $434.87.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($12.83) earnings per share. 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. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Leerink Partnrs raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $490.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.38.

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.