Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $54.27 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 119,698 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $54,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,695,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $447.54 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $439.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.85. The company has a market capitalization of $113.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.