Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 218,292 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,555 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $108,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $523.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $476.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $546.17. The firm has a market cap of $132.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.