Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Takes $2.87 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,780 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $30,570,000. Glenview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,353,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $3,394,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $24,934,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $6,178,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $541.69 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $502.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $468.67. The company has a market cap of $137.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.69.

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 return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is 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.