Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,580 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50,904.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 190,491,484 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $94,622,835,000 after purchasing an additional 190,118,003 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,975,849,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.2%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $17.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $528.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,121,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,738. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $510.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $471.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan McKechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,719 shares of company stock worth $4,174,147. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.