Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Purchases 1,223 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,914 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after purchasing an additional 166,987 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,697,716,000 after purchasing an additional 65,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $481.01 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $463.76 and its 200 day moving average is $429.57. The stock has a market cap of $122.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $540.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.00.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 1,751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $806,212.93. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,150,639.78. This represents a 7.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at $5,945,993.02. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 100,852 shares of company stock valued at $45,787,299 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.