Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $68.30 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 171,034 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 14,251 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $68,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after buying an additional 100,114 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $495.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $453.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.