Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3%, purchasing an additional 4,535 shares, bringing its total holdings to 90,762 shares valued at approximately $44.1 million.
• Wall Street analysts generally maintain a positive outlook on Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with a consensus target price of $497.10 and a mix of ratings including buy and strong buy from several firms.
• Insider activity includes Director Bruce I. Sachs purchasing 5,000 shares at about $389.68 per share, increasing his total ownership by 12.5%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,762 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,535 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $44,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $484,053,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after buying an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $8.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $395.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,913,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,947. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $447.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $464.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $101.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($12.83) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $490.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.