Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,607 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $30,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 4,134 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,665,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 12,118 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,880,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,008 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,446,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,781 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $486.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $443.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $124.86 billion, a PE ratio of -221.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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%. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.

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