Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 438,091 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 32,739 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $178,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $502.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $129.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -228.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.