Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $8.36 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,981 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,465 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % 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. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Citigroup began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.8 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $18.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $465.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,581,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,121. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $476.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market capitalization of $119.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share 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.