61,183 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 61,183 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,570,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $541.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $137.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $502.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $468.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $555.69.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 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.