SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 1,511 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,511 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $486.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $124.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $443.51 and its 200 day moving average is $461.12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.