KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 86,941 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 86,941 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $35,011,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $8.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $500.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,328,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,112. The business has a fifty day moving average of $473.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $463.34. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $128.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -227.40, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.