Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 1.2% in the second quarter, selling 2,555 shares and retaining 218,292 shares valued at approximately $108.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of the company.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy, and three Hold ratings. Vertex has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average analyst price target of $563.50.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above expectations, while earnings per share of $4.73 narrowly missed the $4.74 consensus estimate. Shares opened at $523.91, near the company’s 52-week high of $546.17.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 218,292 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,555 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $108,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $563.50.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% 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 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $523.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $132.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's 50-day moving average is $476.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $462.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $546.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share 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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