Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,613 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Czech National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $662,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after buying an additional 55,739 shares during the period. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $498,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $440.68 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. 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 moving average of $434.90 and a 200-day moving average of $463.98.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.