Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Decreases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ reduced its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 8.7% in Q1, selling 7,980 shares and leaving it with 83,846 shares valued at about $37.4 million.
• Insider selling was notable, including CMO Carmen Bozic’s sale of 6,988 shares and Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia’s sale of 318 shares; insiders sold 16,215 shares in total over the last quarter.
• Vertex reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.47 per share beating estimates and revenue rising 8.3% year over year, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,846 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 7,980 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $37,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 16,215 shares of company stock valued at $7,272,420 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two research 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $499.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $443.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.68. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 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.

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