Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,987 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

VRTX opened at $393.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $414.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $396.76. The company has a market cap of $101.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $316.43 and a one year high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.