Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,895 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,165 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $42,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $506.70.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $509.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,005,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,837. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day moving average is $469.86 and its 200 day moving average is $462.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.