Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,388 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 16,391 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $19,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,965 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,624,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $555,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,799 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,756 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $481.65 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -218.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $436.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.