Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 154,894 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,831 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $72,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after purchasing an additional 324,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $105,282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $462.10 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $472.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $475.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $348.46 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.38.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.