Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 2,744 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,418 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,744 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $633,551.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,662,774.61. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $214,560.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,682,677.48. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,352 shares of company stock worth $45,037,314. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $478.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $537.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $491.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $124.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $460.97 and a 200-day moving average of $427.43. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.