Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 7,861 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,728 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,861 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,933,000. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $244,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 57.2% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $254,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $488.29 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a market cap of $125.39 billion, a PE ratio of -221.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $448.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.15.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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 expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.