Nykredit A S Buys Shares of 248,068 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 248,068 Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $123.2 million, giving it about a 0.10% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $569.52. Recent targets range from $442 to $653.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above expectations, though earnings of $4.73 per share narrowly missed the $4.74 consensus estimate. The stock opened at $556.75, near its 12-month high.

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 248,068 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $123,223,000. Nykredit A S owned approximately 0.10% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.7%

VRTX stock opened at $556.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $506.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $470.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $558.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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