SEB Asset Management AB Takes $62.94 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 140,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,940,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $485.65 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $462.54 and a 200 day moving average of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.