2,200 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after buying an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after buying an additional 520,949 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after buying an additional 482,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 424,808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.6%

VRTX stock opened at $476.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $463.26 and a 200-day moving average of $428.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $577.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.99, for a total value of $749,985.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,065,538.68. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,376 shares of the business’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 $633,551.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,662,774.61. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,852 shares of company stock worth $45,787,299. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.