Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) Benefited from the Launch of its New Drug

Parnassus Investments, an investment management company, released the “Parnassus Growth Equity Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the Fund (Investor Shares) returned -8.59% (net of fees), outperforming the Russell 1000 Growth Index’s -9.97% decline. In the first quarter, post-election optimism, driven by reduced regulation and a business-friendly environment, drifted away to concerns over fiscal and tariff uncertainties, which increased volatility and raised fears of a recession. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Parnassus Growth Equity Fund highlighted stocks such as Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX). Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) is a biotechnology company focusing on developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). The one-month return of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) was 0.31%, and its shares lost 5.40% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 26, 2025, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) stock closed at $443.40 per share, with a market capitalization of $113.864 billion.

Parnassus Growth Equity Fund stated the following regarding Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

"Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) stock gained on optimism for the launch of its new drug Journavx, a non-opioid painkiller for acute pain and the first new class of pain medicine to be approved by the FDA in more than 20 years. Vertex also benefited from continued growth in its cystic fibrosis business."

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 60 hedge fund portfolios held Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) at the end of the first quarter, which was 68 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

In another article, we covered Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) and shared the list of best biotech stocks to invest in. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. While we acknowledge the potential of VRTX as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.