Employees Retirement System of Texas Purchases Shares of 2,918 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,918 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,771,226,000 after buying an additional 144,266 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,276,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $891,744,000 after acquiring an additional 95,565 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $437.22 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $439.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $451.39. The company has a market capitalization of $110.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.