Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Has $12.14 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,093 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,219 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,751,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,681,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $463.47. 696,949 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,658. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $346.29 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $474.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.