Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Sells 8,397 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8%, selling 8,397 shares, and currently holds 136,311 shares worth approximately $66 million.
• Major institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Jennison Associates, increased their stakes in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with Vanguard growing its position by 1.0% and Jennison by 17.2% during the same period.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.52, exceeding analyst expectations, along with a revenue of $2.94 billion, up 11.3% year-over-year.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 136,311 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 8,397 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ owned 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $66,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aries Wealth Management bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $293,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $22,954,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group set a $553.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $391.02. 1,309,844 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,585,422. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day moving average price is $433.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $458.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.