Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,428 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,758 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,428 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 104,895 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $42,241,000 after buying an additional 22,165 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 313.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 4,776 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 945 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 15,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,080,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 43.8% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $510.18 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $131.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -231.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $466.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.