Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Takes $11.67 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 26,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $11,666,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% 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, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $482.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $533.67. The business's fifty day moving average price is $464.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.