Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 647,193 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,480,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.26% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,725,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $830,842,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $515.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $130.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $374.17 and a 1-year high of $546.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $484.71 and a 200-day moving average of $463.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.