Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,088 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $27,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $484.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.11, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $436.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

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.