Forsta AP Fonden Sells 1,520 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

VRTX opened at $447.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $439.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.