1248 Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

1248 Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,795 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake 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 buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $397.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $423.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.15.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($12.83) earnings per share. The company’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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.