Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1,373.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361,085 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 336,573 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.14% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $140,119,000 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. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $535.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $454.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $444.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.