Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,740 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,328,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $548.05 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $492.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.88. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $374.17 and a twelve month high of $555.32. The stock has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.