144,708 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Purchased by Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 144,708 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $58,274,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ owned approximately 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,510,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $1.99 on Thursday, reaching $447.09. 882,371 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,078. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $470.99 and a 200-day moving average of $461.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $114.81 billion, a PE ratio of -203.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.