Norges Bank Buys New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,414,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,374,948,000. Norges Bank owned 1.33% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $731,283,000. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $435,899,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after buying an additional 704,575 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after acquiring an additional 528,029 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $500.28 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.40, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $473.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $463.34.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.