Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,589 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 53,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.72, for a total transaction of $23,624,354.88. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,588,738.72. This trade represents a 69.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.3%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $421.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $106.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $410.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.