Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Dempze Nancy E raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 7,252 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 7,804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Lion Street Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 142.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kidder Stephen W increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 12,298 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,816,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $476.90 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $463.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68. The company has a market cap of $121.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $886,327.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,585,692.17. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 100,852 shares of company stock worth $45,787,299. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.