Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $32.01 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,595 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,368 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $32,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after buying an additional 144,266 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,440,149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $446.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $437.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $451.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

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.