Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 46,203 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.6%, selling 46,203 shares and leaving 654,470 shares valued at about $296.7 million (≈0.26% ownership) at quarter-end.
• Wall Street remains constructive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555, as multiple firms raised targets (e.g., Oppenheimer $600, Cantor Fitzgerald $590) and 23 analysts rate the stock a Buy.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — 80,431 shares (~$37.9 million) sold over the past 90 days, including CMO Carmen Bozic (2,329 shares) and EVP Jonathan Biller (945 shares).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 654,470 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 46,203 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $296,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $213,435,000 after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,417,000. Advisory Resource Group bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,286,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $956,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,643,054.65. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $436.27 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $464.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $445.88. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $510.77. The company has a market capitalization of $110.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

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