Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 14,194 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 32.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,867 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,194 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $450.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $474.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $346.29 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.