Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,431 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,899 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $30,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 982 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. James T. Borello RIA purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,673 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $501.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $523.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $403.16 and a 1 year high of $560.25. The stock has a market cap of $127.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Evercore increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.