Norges Bank Purchases New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,414,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,374,948,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.33% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

VRTX stock traded down $9.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $492.69. 1,280,587 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,275,535. The business's 50 day moving average price is $476.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.52 billion, a PE ratio of -223.95, a P/E/G 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

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