Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Sells 1,500 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60%, selling 1,500 shares and retaining 1,000 shares valued at approximately $485,000.
• An insider, Bruce I. Sachs, purchased 5,000 shares of Vertex at $389.68 each, increasing his total ownership to 45,000 shares valued at over $17 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Vertex, with some upgrades and downgrades leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $497.10.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 60.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $395.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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