Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Boosted by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 146,864 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $57,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $452.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $114.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $438.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $426.45. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Citigroup lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.05.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.