Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 1,092 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,379 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,092 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $6.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $503.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,280,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,218,792. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $466.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.64. The firm has a market cap of $129.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. 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 quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.