BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 3,503 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,321 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,503 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded up $1.95 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $492.42. 1,247,179 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,329,413. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $126.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.83, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $487.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.