Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $47.03 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,793 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $47,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,519,302,000 after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,374,948,000. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $11.61 during trading on Monday, reaching $495.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,362,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,199. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.32 billion, a PE ratio of -225.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $484.84 and its 200 day moving average is $464.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 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.