Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 216,331 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $98,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 145,949 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $66,167,000 after acquiring an additional 83,487 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 96.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 28,818 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 457,046 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $207,206,000 after acquiring an additional 123,314 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $436.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $445.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.71. The firm has a market cap of $110.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,630,027.22. This trade represents a 49.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,802 shares of company stock valued at $37,402,568. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17.

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.