Nordea Investment Management AB Purchases 55,739 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $137,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $662,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $498,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $402.49 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $453.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $469.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a PE ratio of -202.26 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.