Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 193 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,263 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $509.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $471.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a PE ratio of -231.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS 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.