BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 3,075 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,075 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $327,000. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $420,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,373,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 356.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,230 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 4,864 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $477.92 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The stock has a market cap of $121.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $457.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.75.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $414.00 to $606.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.68.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.