Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 44% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 6,899 shares valued at about $3.13 million.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Vertex, with analysts including Citigroup, Truist, HC Wainwright, and Jefferies issuing positive ratings; the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $555.17.
• Vertex reported strong quarterly results, posting $4.47 EPS versus expectations of $4.24 and revenue of $2.99 billion, up 8.3% year over year.

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,899 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,417 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 155,221 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $70,141,000 after buying an additional 13,350 shares during the last quarter. Income Insurance Ltd purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $224,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 8,402 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,809,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 483 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $301,537.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,542,573.40. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,643,054.65. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,853 shares of company stock worth $38,479,135. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $429.82 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $450.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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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