Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 0.9% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,987 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,049,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $173,000. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 1,383 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slow Capital Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 12,997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,288,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded down $1.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $393.10. 880,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,249,131. The company has a market cap of $101.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $316.43 and a 52-week high of $448.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $415.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $396.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.