27,829 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 27,829 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,823,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $78,515,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,668,000. Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of VRTX opened at $528.19 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $546.17. The stock has a market cap of $134.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.74, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $486.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 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 business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.