Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 16,028 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,590 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 16,028 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $89,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.22.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7 %

VRTX stock traded up $3.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $491.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,691,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,045. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $468.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.74. The company has a market capitalization of $126.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $496.93.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,634,616. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,634,616. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,646 shares of company stock valued at $14,169,923 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.