Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 180.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 115 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $46,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $495.42 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $453.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $461.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.