State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $22.31 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,975 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,370 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after acquiring an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $480.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $492.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,005 shares of company stock worth $5,988,066. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded up $5.79 on Friday, hitting $477.70. 1,019,702 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,162. The firm has a market cap of $123.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $475.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $462.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.53 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.