Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 147,511 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $60,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $293,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 974 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,130 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,175,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $397.48. The company had a trading volume of 682,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,992. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $320.01 and a fifty-two week high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $412.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $398.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.