Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 208,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 75,042 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS owned 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $73,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,014.3% during the 1st quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. New Hampshire Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $325.00 to $343.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $3.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $350.07. The stock had a trading volume of 144,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,286. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $349.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $334.55. The company has a market cap of $90.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $276.57 and a 52-week high of $367.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 35.40%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.75, for a total transaction of $4,013,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,270,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $887,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,637 shares in the company, valued at $17,266,135. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 11,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.75, for a total value of $4,013,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,270,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,883 shares of company stock valued at $7,785,258 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO and SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF homozygous F508del mutation for CF patients 2 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 4 months or older who have CF with a mutation that is responsive to ivacaftor, and R117H mutation or one of certain gating mutations.