Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,728 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,861 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $488.29 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $448.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $461.15. The stock has a market cap of $125.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -221.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.