Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,291 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $79,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $435.65 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $510.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $462.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $447.07. The company has a market cap of $110.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,945,993.02. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.