Danske Bank A S Purchases New Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 164,480 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,417,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Second Line Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $437,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 900.4% during the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 12,305 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,819,000 after buying an additional 11,075 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after buying an additional 4,127 shares during the period. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 55,350 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,677,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $15,759,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total value of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,630,027.22. The trade was a 49.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.4%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $451.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $114.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $469.60 and its 200-day moving average is $439.57. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $515.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.