Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Buys New Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

by · The Markets Daily

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Costello Asset Management INC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $535.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.80.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,225. This trade represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $441.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $446.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $427.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The stock has a market cap of $111.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

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.

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