Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Position Boosted by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $48,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,899,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $474.62 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $481.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.66. 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 firm has a market cap of $121.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.17.

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.