Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 80.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,185 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 195,277 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,317,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,133 shares of company stock valued at $4,973,106. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

VRTX stock opened at $450.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $114.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $437.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $452.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.