Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,561 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 312 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $63,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,388,985,000 after purchasing an additional 232,873 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,953,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,916,742,000 after purchasing an additional 33,492 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,559,476 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,240,885,000 after purchasing an additional 230,257 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $553.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $422.63 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $398.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.