Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 5,095 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,799 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,095 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $60,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,475 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,001,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 107.1% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 49,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,819,000 after acquiring an additional 25,375 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 22.2% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 12,013 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $492.69 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.76. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $126.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.