Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Position Lifted by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 289.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 104.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 137 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 107.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,592,000 after purchasing an additional 10,624 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cercano Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cercano Management LLC now owns 70,533 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,483,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $465.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $471.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.