Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 32,739 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 438,091 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,739 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $178,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $502.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $475.04 and its 200 day moving average is $463.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $129.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.43, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.