Vestcor Inc Has $21.20 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vestcor Inc cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,631 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 12,624 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 0.7% of Vestcor Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $495.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $453.85 and its 200-day moving average is $461.58. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’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 value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.