Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,890 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $20,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,237,877,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $176,946,000 after acquiring an additional 416,545 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,410,000 after acquiring an additional 384,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $137,975,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.50 on Wednesday, reaching $470.28. The company had a trading volume of 708,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,151. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $447.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.70. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $335.82 and a twelve month high of $486.42. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total transaction of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,634,616. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total transaction of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,616. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,366 shares of company stock valued at $13,058,787. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.61.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.