Forsta AP Fonden Trims Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,480 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,520 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,695,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $447.54 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $439.06 and a 200 day moving average of $451.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.