Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 271,553 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 10,810 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.11% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $121,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Key Headlines Impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals
- Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s acquisition of Crinetics gives it an immediate entry into rare endocrine disease, broadens its pipeline, and could add meaningful long-term revenue growth. Vertex to Acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals
- Positive Sentiment: The deal includes an approved drug and a late-stage candidate, which should reduce development risk and strengthen Vertex’s growth story beyond its core cystic fibrosis franchise. Vertex’s Crinetics Deal Balances Growth with Integration Risk
- Neutral Sentiment: Several reports noted that Vertex shares pulled back modestly after the announcement, suggesting some investors may be weighing integration risk and the size of the cash outlay. M&A News: Vertex Stock Slips After Announcing $10B Crinetics Acquisition
- Neutral Sentiment: Two Vertex executives also disclosed pre-planned stock sales, but the trades were executed under Rule 10b5-1 plans, making them less likely to signal a change in fundamentals. SEC filing for Duncan Mckechnie
- Neutral Sentiment: Another executive sale was disclosed under a pre-arranged trading plan, which may add some headline noise but does not necessarily indicate insider concern. SEC filing for Ourania Tatsis
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $557.09.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%
NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $522.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $132.55 billion, a PE ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $533.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $453.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $457.50.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Vertex Pharmaceuticals
- Apple and Broadcom Forge a Decade-Long Silicon Fortress
- SK Hynix’s Nasdaq Listing Could Reset the AI Memory Trade
- The AI Chip Sell-Off Looks Scary, But the Real Story May Be Liquidity
- Palantir’s CEO Just Called Out OpenAI and Anthropic
Receive News & Ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
