E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Has $5.57 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,490 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,175 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,092 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,475 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,413,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McHugh Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

VRTX opened at $443.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $465.69 and its 200 day moving average is $460.25. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -201.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.