Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Position Lifted by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Vertex by 2.2% to 150,106 shares (about $69.0 million), and institutional investors now own roughly 90.96% of the company.
• Analysts have been raising targets recently — the consensus price target is about $555 and the stock's average rating is "Moderate Buy" (22 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Strong Buy).
• Insider selling has been notable: executives sold 80,431 shares worth approximately $37.9 million in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with about 0.20% ownership.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,106 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $69,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $301,537.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,542,573.40. The trade was a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $441.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $461.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $447.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.