Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 3,580,356 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,580,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,974,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.40% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,933,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $721,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,983,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,059,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 53,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.72, for a total transaction of $23,624,354.88. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,588,738.72. The trade was a 69.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5%

VRTX stock opened at $432.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $414.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $425.09. The stock has a market cap of $109.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $491.95.

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.