Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 119.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,910 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,032 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $485.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.85 and a 52 week high of $510.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $483.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $451.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.