Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 980 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 980 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3,856.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,284 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 40,653 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $18,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 430.0% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 13,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,278,000 after purchasing an additional 10,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 96.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $512.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $464.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $462.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.61 billion, a PE ratio of -232.96, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

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.