Andra AP fonden Sells 12,037 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Andra AP fonden cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,903 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 12,037 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 832,853 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $377,582,000 after acquiring an additional 69,150 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,306 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,779,000 after purchasing an additional 33,917 shares in the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,436,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the first quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% 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 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $482.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $464.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $459.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.61.

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.