Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,900 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $27,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,479,011,000 after buying an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $477.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $492.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,005 shares of company stock valued at $5,988,066. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $5.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $477.70. 1,019,702 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $123.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $510.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $461.87.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current 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.