DNB Asset Management AS Sells 16,219 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

DNB Asset Management AS lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 299,763 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 16,219 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS owned about 0.12% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $86,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Old North State Trust LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. American National Bank lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 111 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $313.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $296.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. SVB Securities dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $374.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6 %

VRTX stock traded down $4.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $295.77. 1,675,984 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,006,545. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $299.15 and its 200 day moving average is $299.14. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $233.01 and a twelve month high of $325.19. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $76.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.78% and a net margin of 37.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.99, for a total transaction of $82,222.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,663,077.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.99, for a total value of $82,222.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,663,077.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yuchun Lee sold 1,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.03, for a total value of $460,180.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,806.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,916 shares of company stock valued at $12,466,970. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a global biotechnology company, which engages in the business of discovering, developing, manufacturing, and commercializing small molecule drugs for patients with serious diseases. The firm focuses on development and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, infectious diseases including viral infections such as influenza and bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and neurological disorders including pain and multiple sclerosis.