Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 88,391 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 88,391 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $100,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 694 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 35,796 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $14,415,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $1.29 on Friday, hitting $458.77. 275,677 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,522. The stock has a market cap of $117.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -208.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $462.88 and a 200 day moving average of $460.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.