Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 92,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,351 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $36,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $468.41 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $449.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $427.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,225. This represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.