Atle Fund Management AB Reduces Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Atle Fund Management AB trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,562 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 2.7% of Atle Fund Management AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Atle Fund Management AB’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 47.5% during the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.9% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,226 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Asset Management grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 553 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,088 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $414.00 to $606.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $469.90 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The stock has a market cap of $119.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $453.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523. Company 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.