Tredje AP fonden Has $20.12 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.8% in the first quarter, leaving it with 41,490 shares valued at approximately $20.1 million.
• Despite the reduction by Tredje AP fonden, other institutional investors like Capital World Investors and Edgewood Management increased their stakes in Vertex by 5.7% and 91.2% respectively during the same period.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals experienced a 1.6% stock increase following its latest earnings report, which showed a miss in EPS and revenue compared to analysts' estimates.

Tredje AP fonden lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 69.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,490 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 95,962 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $20,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of VRTX traded down $12.29 on Thursday, reaching $456.87. 1,479,656 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,005,596. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -116.55 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $455.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $466.12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current 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.