Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Boosts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 307.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,906 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,379 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $101,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $497.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $395.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $427.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.60.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities 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.