Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,165 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,036,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $548.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $492.65 and a 200-day moving average of $465.92. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $555.32. The company has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.